


Breaking the Walls

by JRirenA



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - High School, Armin's my bae, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF Armin Arlert, Can't believe that's a tag, Carla dies, Don't worry though, Erwin has no boundaries, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Grisha Yeager's Bad Parenting, Height Differences, Height swap, High School Student Eren Yeager, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kenny is a good guy, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Related, Non-Binary Hange Zoë, Other, Past Child Abuse, Playboy levi, Short Eren, Slow Build, Tall Levi, Taller Armin, Will add tags as they come, actor Levi, it's not that important, like he's a bit of a manwhore to start with, might seem a little like levi/petra at one point but it isn't, they're just good friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4623036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JRirenA/pseuds/JRirenA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Eren wanted to do was be a star; he wanted to see his name across the big screen and in headlines and to know that he had inspired children to do what they love. He will do anything to make his dream a reality, no matter what it takes. But can he really achieve all that he desires when society seems to  be against him? Why do only alphas get whatever they want without having to fight to fight tooth and nail? Can he really face the world by himself, especially when holding so many secrets? Or will he be able to break down the walls of society and be free to do what he chooses in the world he was born into?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so to start with, I haven't written anything - fanfiction or otherwise - for four years now (life just kept getting in the way, unfortunately), but I've been feeling so inspired lately. Ideas for stories just won't stop coming to me haha. So, I've decided to start with this idea, and hopefully it turns out good. I do plan for it to be many, many chapters because I have no idea what the word restraint means.  
> Back in my hey day I would write 10'000 words per chapter and think that I wish they were longer - I'm hoping to try and get back into that groove (meaning that this chapter falls short haha), so hopefully that's something to look forward to (fingers crossed). In saying that, don't expect the most regular of updates - probably not weekly, but I'll try. And holly pineapple sticks, I used to be on ff.net, so this is my first time on AO3, and can I just say how different the two sites are - they should have a course for tagging haha. Anyway, you don't come here to read me ramble.
> 
> BUT
> 
> IMPORTANT STORY NOTES:  
> You may or may not want to read these (it won't impact that story whatsoever), but I thought I might explain for those who might want to know. I'm sure everything will be explained later, but not sure.
> 
> Anyway, since this is alpha/beta/omega, everyone has their own take on it. In my universe, alphas, betas and omegas are the genders, whereas male and female are more just sub sections of the genders. Therefore, people can find females or males more appealing than the other, but that doesn't impact their sexuality. Alphas/betas who are mated with omegas, no matter what sub sections either party is, is considered normal. It is the alpha/alpha, beta/beta or omega/omega pairings that would be more aligned with our perceptions of 'gay' or 'lesbian', etc. Therefore, if at any point a male (who is also an omega) is described as wearing a skirt or dress, it is considered normal. Nothing too radical or anything, and pretty standard for these dynamics, but if anything else comes up I'll be sure to let you know.
> 
> And on to the story!

“–I can’t believe that she broke up with him; they were only going out for, like, three weeks!” An excited babble of noise surrounded the girl with the latest celebrity gossip. Eren sighed into his palm and turned his head away from his classmates to stare out the window. Every day was the same: come to school, tune out the conversations around him, pretend to work, and hope to not get into any fights. He was sick of the monotony.

“Apparently it was because he was cheating on her with someone else…” He could almost feel the group leaning in closer, and he barely contained an eye roll when he noticed how most of the class seemed to be paying half an ear to the conversation.

“… and that someone else was an alpha!” Eren felt his ears perk up, suddenly immensely curious. Jean Kirstein, resident alpha playboy of Hollywood, well known for his roles in action dramas, had been dating some omega kindergarten teacher for the past three weeks. This was an impressive feat since it seemed that all his relationships usually ended in the time it took for him to sneeze. To suddenly drop a gorgeous omega for an alpha was unheard of – to hear of two alphas dating was unheard of. Eren had always considered Jean too showy during his interviews, but if this was true, than the horse-faced celebrity had just gained some respect in Eren’s eyes.

“No way! I don’t believe you; you have to be making this up.”

“I’m not. According to this article, they were, like, totally seen holding hands at the Prezzies, and you know how that’s the most prestigious award ceremony for actors and all that.” Before any further comments could be made, Mr Strite entered the room, his very presence rendering the students silent. The man was balding and one kit kat short of a major problem, but his alpha scent was always incredibly intimidating. Eren could honestly say that the man constantly activated his fight or flight response, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d asked Armin before whether he felt the same way, but the blonde had only frowned and told him not to worry about. And if Armin had hung a little closer to him than necessary when in the presence of the strict teacher, he didn’t notice. Speaking of the blonde, Eren was unable to see him from just a cursory glance around, which was unusual. Just as he was thinking of braving the possibility of detention to text him, said blonde burst into the room with an apologetic smile. Or, as much as the ever polite Armin could ‘burst’.

“I’m sorry I’m late sir, my car broke down.” Mr Strite didn’t say anything, just glared until Armin had sat down with a small, sheepish smile. Eren couldn’t help but reply in kind, though it was covered by his hand.

He honestly had no idea what we were doing in class right now – something to do with angles and finding x, who cares? He was much more concerned with what he was doing after school in the drama club. Nothing got him as fired up or energised as acting; there was just something so liberating about taking off your persona and putting on a completely new one. To escape from your life, if even for a moment, and experience the joys and wonders that a new perspective can bring. The club was looking at finding a new piece to rehearse after a successful retelling of the popular play ‘The Omega who wanted to fly’. It was about a young boy who had presented as an omega three days before his doctor’s informed him of his terminal cancer. To have society rip away your rights as soon as you present as an omega, to dictate your every action, and then to find out that fate was going to cruelly rip away your very life caused the boy in the play to abandon the societal norms and do things that were unconventional for his gender; to be free. It was quite controversial, especially in a school setting, but the club somehow pulled it off, much to Eren’s joy. He was a big supporter of omega rights, after all. _Hopefully we can do another play like that one…_ He was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to register the shadow across his desk before a meaty hand was slammed against the wood. He practically jumped out of his chair with a sound that, he will swear up and down , was a manly yelp, much to the amusement of the class.

“Finally with us Mr Jaeger?” Eren grimaced at the sound of his name from this man’s lips, but nodded meekly, trying with all his might to withhold the defiant frown.  
“Good, we wouldn’t want your grades to suffer even more than they are; if they do I might have to stay back after school and… tutor you.” A small shiver flew down his spine, though he didn’t know why, but he did wonder curiously as to why nobody was laughing at his situation any more. 

“With all due respect, sir, if Eren needs tutoring, I would be more than happy to help.” Surprisingly, Armin held a small glare on his face, something that the studious and respectful student would never give to a teacher. It was so confusing. Sometimes Eren forgot that Armin was an alpha, considering he wasn’t as big as a typical alpha, only standing around 5’6’’-5’7’’. Though, what he lacked in size and muscle, he more than made up for it with intelligence. People usually joked how it was fate that the two of them were friends, considering Eren was also on the smaller side for a beta, being only 5’4’’. Mr Strite didn’t say anything in retaliation, merely turning on his heel and marching back to the front of the room.

The rest of the day passed without event, though he was disappointed that they, once again, decided on an alpha-centric play in drama club. _I guess giving omegas the time to shine was only a one-time thing_. He kicked the loose rocks under his feet, a frown marring his features. Why was everything so unfair? He couldn’t understand the thinking of those around him that omegas were weak and helpless, and that alphas were amazing gifts sent from the heavens. According to the research, only about 10% of all omegas even enter the workforce, with the rest staying at home to care for families, and those that do are ridiculed and bullied terribly. Whereas, less than 1% of alphas stay at home to care for their families while the partner goes to work, because it would make them less than an alpha. The social ‘rules’ and stigmas were more lax towards betas; they were expected to work, but never think about achieving any high position or wage – those went to the alphas. If a beta was mated with an alpha, then they were expected to play the ‘omega’ role of care-taker. 

It was as though three clear walls had been erected to enforce the segregation of the genders. Alphas, the clear favourites of society, were lavished with glory and riches, and their little clique was protected by the walls of luxury and importance. Surrounding them, so that no omega could even think of achieving the same kind of heights as their alpha counterparts, were the betas, a circle of protection and normality. Beyond the walls surrounding the betas were the omegas, whom might as well live in poverty and filth for all the care society has for them. It felt that any slight social shift could destroy the omega class all together. Luckily, they were too important – if they were gone, who would create and look after the families, and act as a mat for the betas and alphas to step on? It was frustrating. It was so frustrating! It was so–

“–fucking frustrating!” With a large kick, he scattered the rocks in all directions, watching with dread as a larger rock flew towards one of the cars still parked on the school grounds. It missed. Thank god. He released the breath he hadn’t even realised he had been holding. However, he noticed as a man, who had been standing beside the car, walked away. He was wearing a coat that didn’t fit in with the current weather, and Eren found himself cocking his head in thought. Suddenly his face exploded in red as he realised that whoever he was had witnessed Eren’s shameless tantrum over the injustices of the world. He must have looked like a child. Hopefully he hadn’t been a teacher or anything like that.

The quiet of his house was welcoming – it meant his father wasn’t home, though he doubted that the doctor would come home any time soon as he had been present the day before yesterday for the entire day.

“Another dinner for one…” Dinner was always a silent affair, even when his dad was there, and he sometimes found himself missing the boisterous and crazy dinners that he used to have when his mum was alive. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears well up behind his eyelids; it was ridiculous to always feel so upset at the mere mention of his mother – it had been seven years already, yet it still felt as though it had happened just yesterday. As though it was yesterday that he had run home from school, excited to have gotten his report, wanting to wait to read it until he got home despite all the other students reading theirs. Just yesterday when he burst through the open front door, not even registering any danger in his young mind; why would he? His mother was the strongest person he’d ever met, despite being just a beta. It felt as though it was just yesterday that–  
No! He refused to think about this anymore!

Jumping from his seat, he practically threw his plate in the sink, glad when he didn’t hear any breaking glass, and retreated to his room. He refused to acknowledge that he ran, like some coward afraid of his own past.

“I’m not a coward!” He could almost feel the judgemental stares being cast upon him by those who adorned the posters in his room. With a yell, Eren grabbed his pillows off the bed and threw them as hard as he could at the wall. It wasn’t enough. He didn’t know why he was so angry all of a sudden, but he couldn’t say that it was unusual. With a battle cry, his whole bed succumbed to his rage, fallen soldiers of sheets and blankets scattered across the floor.

After a good few minutes, he managed to settle down, sinking to a sitting position on the ground, his chest heaving from the exertion and emotion, his vision oddly blurry. He roughly dragged a hand across his face, trying to banish any evil drops of water, but his anger had given way into grief, and nothing could have prevented more tears falling. He continued to just sit there amongst the ruins of his room, crying away his sorrows.

When he became aware once more, he realised that it was significantly darker, and he was now lying on his side, clearly having fallen asleep at some point. A quick trip to the bathroom to wash away the evidence on his face, and he was back to restore order to his domain. The quiet of the night was soothing, and he was able to cast away all the negative emotions from previously, something that he could easily do now due to practice. Armin always warned him that it wasn’t healthy, but there was no way he would burden anyone with the weight of his mind and issues; nobody deserved that. 

When he was finished, he flopped down on his made bed, looking across his walls. They were covered in posters of his favourite movies and actors, people who had achieved so much; people who had achieved what he wanted. His eyes drifted over to his favourite, the one placed right in front of his bed. ‘Two alphas and an omega’. The movie was pretty funny – two sibling alphas fell in love with the same omega, and so the movie was about wooing and courting the omega, who couldn’t choose between two siblings and destroy their family. It was hardly thought provoking, but Eren loved it, though he couldn’t say whether it was because of the movie or the actors. 

His eyes glanced over the woman who played the female alpha protagonist – Mikasa Ackerman looked so cool and beautiful with her straight, black hair and sharp features, but his eyes strayed more to the side of her, to her brother both in and out of the movie. Levi Ackerman. His features, just as sharp and coolly attractive as his sister, just seemed to call to him, and his eyes felt like they could bore into your soul. If Eren was to ever have a celebrity crush, it would definitely be on Levi Ackerman.

“I wonder if you would think I was just some stupid kid if you’d actually seen me earlier. I wonder what it’s like, having everyone no your name; having stupid kids putting a poster of you up in their room.” A small smile spread across his face as he imagined it, his name in the headlines and across the big screen, people heralding him as the hope of the movie industry. You wouldn’t be able to see a film without the name _Eren Jaeger_ rolling in the credits.

“One day, just you wait and see,” he whispered to himself, the words feeling as though they carried more weight than had he shouted them from the rooftops.

“One day I’ll make it, and when I do, I’ll take this world by storm.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Eren felt his head drop towards his arms once more, school already taking its toll on his mind before the day had even really begun. What day was it? What were they doing in class? He had no clue – he’d never been a good student, but he’d never put in such a lacklustre effort as he has these past couple of weeks.

“It’s because it’s the last year and your mind is already preparing for a break from school,” Armin said from beside him, no sympathy on his face whatsoever.

“But, it’s only the beginning of the year, so you should probably start trying if you want to actually graduate.”

“Armiiin, why so meeean?” He looked ridiculous, whining like a child, but Armin couldn’t help but feel it was somewhat adorable as he chuckled into his hand.

“It’s the truth, Eren. You know I don’t like lying to you.” Eren just grumbled as he ‘paid attention’ to the class, though in reality the outside of his window captivated his interest more. It was nearing the end of August, and so the weather was still quite warm outside, but he could see that a slight breeze was beginning to pick up. It would be nice to just go outside and lay on the grass and feel the breeze lulling him to sleep… While he was dreaming of anywhere that was not the stuffy classroom that he was sitting in, his eyes noticed someone outside, talking to one of the teachers. He looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t pinpoint where he had seen him before. Though, he did think that the coat he was wearing was oddly out of season.

,i >Wait, I’ve thought that about that coat before. His brow furrowed in intense concentration for a good few minutes before he remembered seeing him that day that he kicked the rocks at that car by accident. _He must be a new teacher, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around except for that one moment_.

“Geez Eren, it isn’t that hard to figure out.” He jolted out of his musings to stare at Armin with wide eyes. How had he figured out what Eren had been thinking about? Yes, he was intelligent, but this was bordering on witchcraft!

“Are you ok?” Armin continued to whisper to him, looking slightly concerned at the look of shock on his friend’s froze face.

“How did you know? I bet you know who he is as well. Is this what you do when we don’t hang out? Practice the dark arts? But I guess if we go by Harry Potter, it wouldn’t be the darks arts, but then I wouldn’t know which subject mind reading would come under, though Snape did look in Harry’s mind that one time using that spell–”

“My god, Eren, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Armin said, exasperated.

“I meant that the problem on the board wasn’t that hard to figure out since it looked like you were about to burst a blood vessel from thinking too hard. Silly me for thinking that your mind was actually on your school work.” Armin shook his head and rolled his eyes before returning to his English work, leaving Eren feeling stupid. Deciding that he would rather face the devil that is school than have Armin look at him like he was an idiot, he turned to his work, completely forgetting, once more, about the strange man in the coat.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He should not have forgotten about the strange man in the coat, despite how innocuous and innocent he had seemed. It had been three weeks since the second time he had seen the man, but it was by far from the last. During those three weeks he had seen the man almost everywhere, talking to the teachers, peering in through the drama club windows, even when there was no one inside, shopping at the same shops that he went to, and he was starting to get the strange sense that the man was following him. For what reason, he had no idea, but it was starting to put him on edge. And he never got a good look at him, just that he was tall and built (so probably an alpha), wore that stupid coat, and had blonde hair. 

Luckily it was Saturday, and so didn’t have to go anywhere that he might run into the mystery man. It seemed foolish to think that the man was following Eren – what would anyone want with him? Lazing about in his room was starting to get boring, but he honestly had nothing better to do. Armin had some family gathering or something – which he always found odd since he thought that it was just Armin and his grandfather since his parents died, but Armin strangely avoided his questions every time he asked them. With a sigh, he rolled onto his side, looking out the window. It seemed that his favourite pastime was observing things from his window; it was as though he was always trapped on one side of the wall looking at what he couldn’t have. Poetic as it was, he knew that if he said it to anyone he would get the response ‘dude, just go outside if you feel trapped behind a window’. They didn’t understand. Nobody understood.

He could feel darkness start to creep across his being, which was always a sign to stop thinking, no matter what he was thinking about. He dug his face into his pillow, breathing deeply to calm down; he only ever let his emotions surface this badly when he was at home – he would die before he cried outside his room.

“Why do I have to be so fucking emotional?”

“You sound like a damn omega; get a hold of yourself. If you were an alpha than you wouldn’t be having this problem.” His head shot up quickly, looking at his father. It had been weeks since he last saw him, but the man never changed. An overpowering scent of dominance spread into his safe space, suffocating him, and he couldn’t honestly say whether it was accidental or not.

“You’re home.” It was said with a deadpan expression; things like ‘welcome home’ were never uttered in the Jaeger household. He was only met with a grunt. It appeared as though he had only just gotten home from work, which meant that there hadn’t been enough time for him to take even a sip from his favourite bottle, meaning that Eren had enough to leave for Armin’s.

Except Armin had his stupid family thing. Damnit. 

With a sigh, Eren rolled off his bed and moved to the kitchen, already knowing the next command.

“Get your damn ass in the kitchen and make dinner. I’m starving.” He let out a frustrated breath, having already started to get out the pots and pans needed.

“Yes, dad.” It was going to be a lovely weekend.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ok. He was starting to get angry now, something that always happened after one of his dad’s ‘visits’, and this was the perfect outlet. In the span of three days he had seen the strange man eight times. Not only that, but he distinctly overheard his name when he happened upon the man speaking to his drama teacher. The man had his back to him, which was unfortunate, but Eren was prepared to go in, guns blazing to demand answers. If only the alpha’s scent hadn’t been so overwhelming. The man got lucky, but if Eren was to run across him again, then he would definitely put the man in his place. He had talked to Armin about the issue, but the blonde hadn’t seemed too fazed, telling him that he was probably being paranoid. Eren didn’t notice how the blonde’s eyes had drawn into a frown as soon as the brunette had turned away, his calculating blue eyes whirling to see if he had recognised any suspicious figures near his clueless friend.

As Eren was walking away from a possible confrontation, he tried to figure out, for the millionth time, what the man could possibly want. There was nothing Eren had that would be beneficial to anyone – unless they wanted him to accomplish something through sheer will power and determination. Walking while lost in your thoughts is never a good idea, but Eren was known for his bad ideas, and so he was pulled out of his thoughts as he came crashing to the ground after running into a wall. It wouldn’t be the first time, unfortunately.

Except that it wasn’t a wall, as he noticed when he met the very angry expression of Mr Strite, papers littering the ground. With a muttered apology, he began to gather all the pieces scattered around him, before returning them to the still glaring teacher. It wasn’t until they had all been returned to his arms that he broke the silence.

“Eren Jaeger, a continual thorn in my side. You barely pay attention in class, and now it seems as though that is extending to the rest of your life.”

“I can explain, you see –”

“I am sure you can; that doesn’t mean that you are exempt when you do something wrong. I believe detention this afternoon will suffice.”

“But I have drama club–”

“Then you should have been paying attention to your surroundings, hmmm. I will see you after classes are over. Report to my room, and do not be late.” The larger man brushed past with no more argument, leaving Eren seething with anger and irritation – this was just not his day.

He decided not to tell Armin about his detention; he wasn’t willing to see the look of disappointment in his friend’s eyes. According to Armin, Eren could be so much greater at school if he tried, but the fact that he didn’t was what always led to these messes. With a dejected sigh he slowly trudged through the day, waving off any concern sent his way. Oh well, it wasn’t like it was the first time he had ever gotten in trouble and sent to detention.

The end bell rang, signalling the end of the day for most people, but he still had time to serve. The classroom was the same as it always was, but he was stopped before he could sit in his usual spot near the back.

“It wouldn’t be much of a detention if I can’t see whether you’re on your phone or not.” As Eren sat down in the front row, he noticed something odd.

“Am I the only one in detention today?”

“Hmmm? I guess so.” He didn’t look up once, almost as though he knew that Eren would be the only one present.

“Right…” Eren pulled out his school supplies, figuring that he might as well do some homework while he was here, feeling oddly tense because of the strange atmosphere. Over the time, he could hear his teacher making small comments to himself, but he could never quite hear what he said. They remained like this for the next half an hour.

“Have you ever considered wearing the omega uniform?” It had been so quiet for so long, that the shattering of that silence caused him to jump in surprise, before he settled for confusion. What a weird question. The betas and alphas had a uniform consisting of simple slacks, a white button up shirt with the school emblem, a tie, and, if you felt classy, a black vest. It also came with a nice green jumper or zip up jacket, both with the emblem; green and black were the school colours. The female betas and alphas could also choose to wear a skirt, but they very rarely did, since such an item of clothing was more suited to an omega. In contrast, the omega uniform was the same, except with the pants being exchanged for a green plaid skirt. It was also common for omegas to wear long white socks, or stockings, especially in the colder months to keep warm.

“No, why would I?” He didn’t receive an answer for another ten minutes.

“You’re quite small for a beta.” The teacher still hadn’t looked up from his work, as though this was the most normal conversation in the world. Eren could feel his anger rising slightly.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?” He thought he might have seen a small smirk, but it could have been a trick of the light. More time passed in silence.  
“Have you ever wondered what it was like to be an omega?”

“Have you?! Can I go home now?” Mr Strite finally looked up for the first time since he arrived, but Eren felt that he could do without the glare. Also, he felt as though he was suffocating, but he wasn’t sure why.

“Is that anyway to ask something? You lack respect, boy.” He glared down at his desk, the demeaning tone and name serving to rile him up more. He needed to leave before he had a go at his teacher – and he really didn’t want to be in this room or situation ever again. His silence, though, seemed to be the wrong answer when Mr Strite surged out of his chair and swiftly moved the few steps to tower over his desk. The air got thicker, and it was with a start that Eren realised why it was hard to breath – Mr Strite was leaking dominating alpha pheromones like crazy. You weren’t allowed to do that in a school. For the first time, Eren was starting to worry.

“When someone tells you that you lack respect, you fucking apologise.” Eren looked up with wide eyes, apprehension clouding the usually bright, pretty blue-green colour. The teacher narrowed his eyes, and a strange look passed over them that Eren couldn’t identify. Was he angry? _What did I do? Is he going to kill me? Is that what that look means? Has he finally gotten sick of me_? He visibly flinched as a meaty hand grabbed him by his arm and pulled him out of his seat. The force of the pull had him stumbling forward.

“Do you do it deliberately?” Eren didn’t know what he was talking about, do what? The shock of the situation had rendered him temporarily stunned and unable to move. The grip on his upper arm hurt, and would surely leave a bruise, but Mr Strite showed no intention of letting go as he once more looked down at his small, wide-eyed student. With a groan, he forced Eren against his desk, almost to the point where the student was sitting on it, the wood cutting into his skin.

“S-sir?”

“There’s no way that you don’t know what you’re doing. Are you deliberately trying to tempt me?” Tempt him with what? This entire situation was way over Eren’s head.

“You have the biggest, most beautiful eyes that I’ve ever seen. When you look at me, I know exactly what you want; what you _need_.” Mr Strite had gotten impossibly close, his nose would be almost touching Eren’s had he not turned his head in a last ditch attempt to get free. He had never realised just how strong an alpha was before. Every muscle was tense and he had no idea what his teacher was saying – he hadn’t even realised that he had been looking at him differently.

“I don’t–” A hand was slammed down on the wood next to him, and he flinched in fear as he looked at the anger on the other’s face.

“Yes you do! I can see what a fucking slut you are; I bet you wish you were an omega so you can have as much alpha cock as you want.” The vulgar words were so surprising that Eren found himself frozen again, having been trying to struggle free before. Nobody had ever spoken to him in such a way, and he wasn’t sure how he should go about convincing the man that he had made a mistake – he must be thinking of a different student, because there was no way that he had been giving off that vibe. A hand grabbed his chin and forced him to face forward, straight into disgustingly murky brown eyes.

“But don’t worry, baby, because you’re probably prettier than any omega that I’ve ever seen. You can have any alpha tripping over themselves to feed you their cock.” He whimpered. He fucking whimpered! He hated feeling so weak and useless; so out of control! No matter how much he struggled or fought there was no way that he could fight off a fully grown alpha. This was why alphas were at the top; why they dominated every industry: they were just too damn strong. He dully noticed that his face felt wet, but that only seemed to spur on the sick man hovering over him as he forced Eren’s head to the side so that he could have access to his neck. _No! I don’t want to be weak. I don’t want to ever be as weak as I was that day! I promised you that I would be stronger than everyone; that I would break these walls that have been constructed around us. I promised you… I promised you. I promised you! I… I_ …

“I am not weak!” Everything was a blur of movement, the blood rushing through my ears and vision. He saw nothing, but at the same time, everything. It could have been a second, it could have been an hour, but when his blood calmed down once more, he was aware of two things: first, he was free and Mr Strite was lying on the ground, unconscious with blood on his face, and second, that he was not alone. Eren's eyes met the icy blue ones of the man standing across the room, his ever present coat finally starting to make sense as the weather cooled down. His blonde hair was perfectly in place, and a look of curiosity was in place, though Eren was much too distracted by the large caterpillars taking up residence on the upper portion of his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, I'm back a lot earlier than I said I would be, so enjoy this early gift to all of you :) Also, this is un-betad, so forgive any mistakes
> 
> And to everyone who commented/bookmarked/gave kudos/subscribed thank you so much, it means the world to me :)

The two stood in silence for what felt like an eternity; Eren eyeing the blonde man wearily. However, the man just surveyed the room with curiosity before finally settling his gaze on the younger.

“That was very impressive,” he said, more to himself than anything. He took a step forward, and suddenly the teen moved into action, putting more space between them.

“Who are you and why have you been following me?” The man looked at him with his intense blue eyes, and it looked like he was weighing something up in his mind, almost as though he was judging the brunette teen before him.

“How did you manage to take down an alpha almost three times your size? It would be an impressive feat for a beta, but for an omega it is practically unheard–”

“I’m a beta,” Eren cut in coolly, almost at the end of his patience. He hated when people answered questions with questions. For the first time since entering the room, the taller man looked genuinely surprised.

“Oh, pardon me, I’m sorry. I just assumed because you’re so–”

“Small? Yeah, I get that all the time.” He could see by the small tick in the blonde’s jaw that he was beginning to become irritated that he was continually being cut off. This was a man who exuded the impression of importance and having people listen to him. _Guess he should answer my questions if he wants my respect_.

“Why have you been following me?” Instead of receiving his answer, a large hand was thrust into his vision.

“My name is Erwin Smith; it’s good to finally make your acquaintance, Mr Jaeger.” Eren hesitantly took the hand offered to him with a firm shake, waiting for some kind of elaboration. Erwin, on the other hand, was looking at him expectantly, as though his name was enough information for Eren to figure it out. The air turned slightly awkward as neither spoke, the words hanging uselessly between them. With a small cough Erwin allowed his hand to drop back to his side.

“Yes, well, I must say I’ve been very impressed with you; I saw that play you were in a few weeks back with your drama club and I knew as soon as I saw you act that you were exactly the person I needed.” His blue-green eyes lit up in happiness at the compliment towards his abilities – it was always great to be acknowledged. Erwin could see that he held his attention.

“I’m a director – perhaps you’ve heard of me? Anyway, I’ve been trying to fill a certain role for a while, but everyone who has auditioned has just… lacked a specific quality that I’m after.” He took a few steps forward, invading Eren’s personal space, and leaned down until they were eye level. He saw the excited glint in the blue eyes, while the rest of the features remained mostly stoic.

“Would you like to be in a movie?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren could barely contain his joy as he practically skipped home – he was sure that if he had looked behind him that he would see a trail of flowers and rainbows where he had stepped. It was a dream come true. No, it was better than that! It was the laws of impossibility suddenly reversing solely to grant his one true wish. His talk with Erwin had cleared up a lot of things, such as why the man had been following him. Apparently, he had been monitoring his behaviours and work ethics, as well as observing further drama rehearsals to properly evaluate his skills. He had also talked with Eren’s teachers to get a sense of his personality. He couldn’t wait to tell Armin!

He hadn’t been told an awful lot about the role; instead, Erwin insisted that he come by his office in Trost so that he can explain everything. He also needed Eren to ‘audition’ using the actual script just so Erwin could be one hundred percent certain of him.

He barely noticed the emptiness of his surroundings as he entered the darkened house, but for once, he didn’t care. Even if his dad had been home, nothing could ruin the good mood that he found himself in. Suddenly he felt his pocket vibrate, causing him to fish his phone from within their depths.

**From: Armin 5:43**  
_Hey, I heard that you had detention. Again. How’d it go?_

He grimaced at Armin’s super human ability to collect information.

**To: Armin 5:43**  
_was fine_

He wasn’t sure if he should tell his best friend the good news over the phone, or wait until they met in person. Such a decision he needed to make…

**From: Armin 5:45**  
_That’s what happens when you don’t pay attention in class, and don’t do your homework :(_

**From: Armin 5:45**  
_Who was it with, anyway?_

**To: Armin 5:46**  
_stupid strite…_

He’d almost forgotten what had happened during his ‘detention’, but just thinking about it again caused a sliver of repulsion to shudder through him. He was a disgusting man, and Eren hoped dearly that he would never have to be in a situation like that again. He just that hoped that Armin wouldn’t give him the typical ‘you need to try harder, I’m not mad, just disappointed’ speech, or whatever.

 **From: Armin 5:50**  
_What! You had a detention with Mr Strite? But I don’t remember him giving you one during class_.

**To: Armin 5:52**  
_it wasnt in class. i ran into him at lunch_

**From: Armin 5:54**  
_That son of a bitch!_

Eren had to read the text three times just to be sure that he wasn’t hallucinating – Armin rarely ever swore, and he sounded really angry. This was unusual.

**From: Armin 5:56**  
_Eren, did he do anything weird? Or say anything weird?_

**From: Armin 5:57**  
_Did he seem closer than he should be? Where did you sit? In your usual seat at the back?_

**From: Armin 5:57**  
_Just tell me that the two of you had no interaction beyond what it normal for a detention._

Eren looked at the messages, confused – was Armin worried that he would start a fight? He wish he could be offended at that notion, but it had happened too many times where he had entered into a verbal altercation with a teacher over the smallest things (Armin’s words). Before he could even begin to think of how to answer, his phone went off again.

**From: Armin 6:00**  
_He didn’t try to… touch you?_

Eren’s fingers, which had been poised to text a reply, froze, his eyes widening at the implications behind Armin’s questions. Had his blonde friend known that something might happen? Thinking back on it, Armin had always manipulated situations so that Eren would never be alone with the despicable man, though he had never considered the reasons at the time. Should he tell Armin what had occurred? It wasn’t as though he wanted to keep secrets, but his pride was telling him to forget it had ever happened. A knock at the front door drew his attention outward. Surprised etched itself across his face as he opened the door to reveal the blonde genius in the flesh.

“Armin?”

“You took too long to reply, and I was already on my way over here anyway.” There was no trace of happiness of playfulness in his friend’s pale features as he strode into the house, Eren following with a small frown. He could feel the barely contained anger surrounding the other male, his muscles taut with tension.

“So… what happened this afternoon?” His eyes dared him to lie.

“Well, Strite just asked me some weird questions and then he–”

“What did he ask?” Eren raised an eyebrow in a small amount of amusement – Armin wasn’t letting a single piece of information slip past him. However, it was embarrassing to say. He glared down at his feet before he let out a sigh.

“He just wanted to know if I’d ever wear the omega uniform, and stuff like that.” The blue orbs turned icy as they narrowed to impossibly thin slits.

“Did anything else happen?” He didn’t want to tell Armin – he barely even knew what had happened after that, how was he meant to summarise.

“I guess… He pulled me from my chair and pushed me against his desk and said… that he would ‘give me what I need’.” He looked away, ashamed that he had been so weak in that moment; he’d allowed the much larger man to overpower and belittle him, and he wasn’t sure if he could forgive himself. What he did not expect was Armin’s reaction.

The blonde turned away sharply and paced forward, breathing deeply. Eren couldn’t see his face, but he was getting intense ‘dangerous’ vibes from the usually docile alpha.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to rip him to fucking shreds!” Eren flinched unconsciously as Armin suddenly lashed out at the poor, unsuspecting end table, throwing it against the wall, where it shattered into many pieces. He knew that it was just instincts taking over the blonde’s mind, but it didn’t make it any less terrifying to see Armin lose all control over his senses. The physical manifestation of his rage didn’t last long, thankfully, and he was able to bring himself back under control with a few controlled breaths. He turned abruptly on his heel and marched over to Eren until they were toe-to-toe. A pale hand grabbed his tanned chin and directed his face up until their eyes were locked and Eren could see the weight of seriousness in his friend’s blue depths.

“Listen to me, Eren. If that disgusting fuck touches you again, I want you to tell me immediately. I don’t care what I’m doing, and I don’t care where I am, you better tell me and I will come, do you understand me?” He barely nodded, but it was enough to appease him and he let go of Eren’s face, taking a few steps back. He couldn’t help but smile, he didn’t hate it when Armin allowed his instincts to run wild – it was such a rare, but impressive occurrence.

“You swore. And you broke my table.” It was though he only just realised what he had done as he surveyed the damage.

“I’m so sorry; don’t worry, I’ll replace it immediately, you’re dad won’t even know that it’s different.” Eren let out a small bark of laughter at that – he bets that he could redecorate the entire room and his dad still wouldn’t realise that something had changed.

“Thanks, Armin…. You’re very sexy when you’re mad,” he said with an award winning grin. Armin groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Why do you always need to ruin the mood?” The blonde’s eyes turned serious once more.

“You don’t smell different, so I can assume that he didn’t mate or penetrate you,” he said with a serious face, while Eren’s exploded with red.

“So how did you escape? Did another teacher or student come and help you?” Eren smiled proudly, thinking about what he had done, a fire lighting in his eyes.

“No, I fought him off. At first I felt really weak and helpless – a feeling that is the worst thing in the world, knowing that you have no way to stop something from happening.” He decided to ignore Armin’s growl, preferring to allow his friend to try and maintain a cool head.

“But then… I don’t know, I just felt this surge of power – like what I wanted to do and what I could do finally aligned. I can’t really explain it. So, I knocked him unconscious.” Armin sighed in relief, but he looked over, curious.

“I’m so relieved – I can’t even tell you how much – but it’s so weird. I mean, you’re–”

“I know. As I said, I’m not even sure of it myself.” Determination shone brightly in his big eyes as he grabbed Armin’s biceps.

“I don’t care how it happened – it’s proof that I’m not weak. I want to show the world that alphas aren’t the only strong ones in this world. They might have been blessed with superior strength and reflexes when they were born, but that’s not the only thing that strength is about. It’s about having the courage and the will to fight. I want to fight, Armin. I want to change this world; I don’t want the future to live in such an oppressive world that we do. If things had been different, maybe my mum…” He scrunched his nose, blinking away tears, though it wasn’t something Armin hadn’t seen before. He caught the fond look directed at him, the sweet, supportive smile showing him that he wasn’t crazy to say such things.

“You know that I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do. If you want to act, I’ll help you get there; if you say you want to become a police officer, I’ll help with that too; and if you say you want to change the world, I say let’s light it on fire and watch as a new day begins.” Eren let go and laughed, immensely grateful to have Armin in his life.

“Easy there, I don’t want to start my new day in jail.” Armin chuckled in response.

“So what did you end up doing with Mr Strite? Did you just leave him there?” He shook his head.

“I’m not sure, I let… Ah, I can’t remember his name, but I let the other guy take care of him. I assume he took him to the principal or something like that.” Armin frowned.

“Other guy? And you don’t remember his name?” Eren’s eyes went comically wide.

“That’s right! I forgot to mention the other guy. He came in just as I knocked out Strite, and he was pretty impressed by me – I figured it was ok to let him handle it. And you know how I am with names. In fact…” Eren allowed the massive grin to take up the bottom of his face, his eyes glittering in excitement.

“He offered me a role in his movie! Can you believe that?” He waited a moment, but felt his mood deflating slightly when he didn’t see the blonde respond with the same level of enthusiasm.

“… What did he say his job was?”

“He’s a director, and he’s been trying to fill this role for ages, and he said I would be perfect for the part. Maybe this could even be my big break? Imagine that.” Eren felt himself start to drift into his dream state, where he walked down the red carpet at the Prezzies, where he would win every award he was nominated for. Meanwhile, Armin continued to frown.

“A director? Isn’t that a little too… Coincidental? How does he even know how you act?”

“Oh, you remember when I told you that I thought someone was following me?” He could say for certain that he didn’t like where Eren was going with this, but he still gave a nod of affirmation.

“Well, it turns out it was him; he saw the play we did a few weeks ago – you remember, ‘The Omega who wanted to Fly’?”

“And he’s been following you since?! Why, what possible reason could he have to–” Eren let out a laugh.

“Chill, Armin. He said he needed to make sure I had good character and work ethic or something, so he followed me and talked to my teachers to judge that.” Armin felt his head start to shake from side to side in disbelief. How could his friend be so stupid? Before he could put his two bits in, Eren had already continued.

“He said he wanted to see me in his office in Trost to go over the details and have a proper audition, so I figured I would go tomorrow or the day after. I told him I had school, but he said to just come after. In fact, he said that was the best idea, because then I could just wear my school uniform, which is important for some reason.” When he finished speaking he noticed that the blonde was looking at him incredulously.

“You’re not going.” There was no further explanation, and Eren felt his temper rise. Why couldn’t Armin just feel happy for him? And who gave him the right to dictate Eren’s actions?

“Before you get angry – and I can see it building – just listen to me, ok? This sounds really suspicious. Some random older guy has been following you for weeks – rather than just introducing himself immediately – and even goes so far as to talk to people about you without your knowledge. Then, he offers you this ‘amazing’ role that only you can play, but he still wants you to drive three hours to Trost to have an audition in your school uniform?” He looked at the shorter brunette expectantly, but he could already see that Eren saw no problem with this summary of events.

“I know, Ar, I just said that.” He sighed; Eren was going to be the death of him one day.

“I’m just going to put it out there right now; it kinda sounds like porn. Or that he’s going to kidnap you.” Predictably, the tanned face flamed red, and he found himself spluttering.

“P-porn! You’re kidding, right? What part of what I said indicates… t-that?”

“The stalking, for one, or it could be that he wants you to ‘audition’ in your school uniform.” Eren stubbornly glared and Armin could already see the strength of his resolve.

“But you’re going to go no matter what I say, right? Even if you might be killed, or worse?”

“What if it’s the real deal? I can’t afford to pass up this opportunity again because it might never come my way again. You know as well as I do the statistics of actor gender in Hollywood.”

“90% alphas and 10% betas…” He refused to look at Eren’s imploring gaze, because his decision would be made the minute he does. Things could end so badly, but there was a slim chance that it might work out, and he had to bet everything he had on that chance. He would provide Eren with every opportunity to succeed that he could, right up until the moment that the opportunities stop for him. He looked down with a calculating gaze, his forehead crinkling slightly in thought.

“Fine, but I’m going with you, no arguments.” He wasn’t sure if Eren had listened to him past fine, but he felt arms wrap around his neck as he was pulled into a binding hug.

“Things will work out, Ar.” He wished he could blindly believe in the same childish optimism that Eren did, but he understood the ways of the world enough to know how cruel it was – this was definitely not an easy path that the smaller boy had chosen. He sometimes wished that Eren had chosen something more low key, but there was no helping a stubborn soul.

“Yeah. I guess since you’re going to be an actor, you’ll need a manager.”

“I thought you’d already taken that job when I first told you what I wanted to be.” Armin couldn’t help but laugh as he tightened his arms around the brunette.

“Of course, who else could I trust to manage your affairs and protect you?” He could almost feel the eye roll he got in response.

“I don’t need you to protect me; if I recall correctly, it’s me who protects you.” Armin smiled fondly at the memories that line provoked as he gently pulled Eren off him. Though, he knew that they weren’t children anymore, and Eren would need Armin’s protection in the coming times – though he wouldn’t tell the hot-headed spit fire that in order to protect his pride.

“We’ll go tomorrow.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s how the two found themselves driving along the highway in Armin’s beat-up old ute, driving towards Trost after school. The car wasn’t anything special, but it was within the alpha’s pay range, worked perfectly and was one hundred percent owned by him, so he couldn’t complain. Both of them were lost in their thoughts, the radio playing softly in the background. Eren was nervous, but excited, but Armin still had his reservations, and that day at school hadn’t helped him with his misgivings about this mysterious guy Eren talked about. Mr Strite hadn’t been present today, and the substitute teacher didn’t know where he was; over the course of the day, Armin also heard rumours that the man had completely disappeared and that no one knew where he had gone. It was lucky in a way, because he didn’t know if he would be capable of containing the rage he felt towards the teacher, but he also wanted to know how this mystery man had ‘handled the situation’.

“What if he changes his mind?” Armin looked to his side briefly before focussing back on the road.

“What?” He saw Eren fidget in his peripherals.

“What if he changes his mind and says that he doesn’t want me for the part anymore?” _It would be a load off my mind_ , Armin thinks somewhat bitterly.

“I doubt it; he wouldn’t have stuck with you this long just to dump you right at the end. You’re a great actor, and he would be stupid to pass you by.” Eren visibly relaxed, slumping back into his seat.

“You’re right, thanks Armin." After a while of silence, Armin indicated off the highway and entered the city of Trost, slowing down as he began to hit afternoon traffic. When they were sitting comfortably at a set of red lights, he gave his full attention to Eren.

“So where exactly are we heading? Do you have an address or building name?”

“Ah, yeah, 104 Maria Street.” Eren had been looking out the window, but when he didn’t receive a reply, he glanced over, confused at the look of shock and surprise deeply etched into Armin’s face.

“Eren…”

“Yeah?”

“You do know what’s at 104 Maria Street, right?” His confusion only grew.

“No, and the light’s green.” The blonde shifted into gear and started driving on autopilot, his brain ticking over all the small bits of information Eren had given him. A director. Who was blonde. With big ass eyebrows.

“Eren… the person you spoke to wouldn’t happen to be named Erwin Smith, was he?” Eren jumped in his seat in excitement.

“Yes, that was him! How did you know?” Armin made an oddly choking sound, like he was struggling to swallow his spit.

“Oh my god, shit Eren, you met _the_ Erwin Smith!” He had no idea what Armin was fan-girling about, but the atmosphere was finally getting better as excitement became thick.

“What’s so special about him?”

“You want to be an actor but don’t know who Erwin Smith is?”

“I don’t always care about the directors – and if you say his first _and_ last name one more time I’m getting out of this care and walking the rest of the way.” Laughter filled the small confines of the car.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that this means it is almost definitely a legitimate movie, and not some weird back alley porno. I’d had my doubts from the beginning. Erwin Sm… Erwin is probably the best director in Hollywood at the moment, revered for his innovative way of thinking. He’s also a high executive of the Survey Corps.” Eren’s mouth dropped at the mention of the studio he has wanted to join since he was just a child. He remembered the times when he and his mother would sit on the lounge and watch movies that were only made by the Survey Corps, even if they had watched them before. The actors changed over time, but the pieces produced always remained masterpieces; they dared to question and push the boundaries of acceptability, and they inspired free thought. Even the ones that strictly adhered to the stereotypes and principles of society had some form of underlying message. He had never been able to see past the surface when he was younger, so some of his fondest memories are that of his mother pointing out the meanings. She had been a strong believer that humans didn’t need to be so rigidly structured into set boxes based on gender.

“We’re here; 104 Maria Street, I can hardly believe it.” Armin shook his head in disbelief as he looked out his window up at the tall, imposing building that helped define the skyline of Trost. Eren couldn’t be contained a second longer and jumped from the car as soon as the engine switched off, impatiently waiting for the blonde alpha to join him on the side walk.

“Hurry up, Armin; we don’t know what time they close.”

“Seriously, you need to calm down, the building isn’t going anywhere, and Erwin knows you’re coming. So just relax.” The two walked into the cool lobby, the air crisp and dignified. Both of them felt severely underdressed in just their school uniforms as they observed all the immaculately dressed people in just the lobby alone. Would everyone on the higher levels be wearing suits? Would they run into someone famous? Is this where they shot scenes for movies? Eren highly doubted that last one, but the chances of running into a high profile actor was still pretty high in Eren’s books. Armin took his wrist and dragged him over to the receptionist, recognising that the other had no intentions o f moving until he had gawked at everything that he could see.

The receptionist was a pretty blonde, who he could already tell was a beta based on the lack of any strong scent. The name on her desk read ‘Nanaba’.

“Welcome to the Survey Corps. How may I help you today?”

“Hi, we’re here to meet with Erwin Smith, he should be expecting us.” She raised an eyebrow, looking the two of the over silently, her eyes lingering on the uniforms they wore for a moment before looking at her monitor.

“What were your names?”

“Armin Arlert, and this is Eren Jaeger.” He noticed as Nanaba stared a fraction longer at the mention of Eren, interest clearly evident – she’d obviously heard something about him.

“Take the right elevator up to the 49th floor. Mr Smith’s office is the last door in the corridor as you walk out of the elevator, though they are clearly labelled. He will be expecting you. Have a nice day.” Armin grabbed Eren again, dragging him towards the elevators, noticing as the nervous seemed to have come back tenfold. A quick look thrown over his shoulder showed the receptionist on the phone, most likely speaking to the man that they were going to see. When the doors slid shut soundlessly, Eren allowed himself to slide to the ground, not worried about how he might seem to anyone who could enter the elevator at any one of the next 48 floors.

“Are you sure I can do this? Before it was just the possibility of making it big through some no name company, playing a no name role… But this is the Survey Corps! I’d never be able to live it down if they reject me; this is where I’ve wanted to be for the longest time, but now that I’m here…” He gripped his hair in his hands, shadows clouding his usually bright eyes, before horror took their place as a thought occurred to him.

“What if dad says I can’t do it? Technically he can ‘cause he’s still my guardian for another year, and you just know what his reaction will be.” Armin crouched down, gently prying the brown locks from the painful grip, pulling Eren to his feet. He pulled Eren to his chest which started to rumble gently, calming the smaller brunette down almost instantly. Most people who had seen the two interact had claimed that they were ‘too close’ or that there was ‘something more’ between them then just simple friends, but the idea of entering a relationship had just never occurred to either of them; they just didn’t feel that ‘special’ connection that mama Jaeger always talked about. They were each others’ pillar of support, providing strength when it was lacking. They had helped each other through many hard times, and while Armin had his grandfather, Eren only had Armin to lean on. They were best friends, but more than that, they were brothers and Armin would not let nerves or insignificant worries be the cause of Eren missing out on this chance.

“Don’t worry about him, I promise that he won’t stop this, I’ll make sure of it. You’re going to be amazing.” Eren pulled away just before the elevator dinged for their floor, his previous insecurities gone from his body language – he had started playing the role of Eren, confident movie star. It was a favourite of his when the stress and nerves got too much. The walk down the hall was imposing and slightly intimidating, but it didn’t penetrate Eren’s role, though it left Armin slightly nervous and he wasn’t even doing anything to warrant nerves. Standing before the door, Eren took three deep breaths – one more than he usually took as Eren the confident movie star, showing just how nervous he truly was – and knocked on the door. They could hear a flurry of activity before the door was flung open an Eren was pulled unceremoniously inside. Armin felt his instincts flare, urging him to ‘protect’, and he didn’t hesitate, bursting in after his friend, who looked as though he was being crushed. At the desk sat a highly amused Erwin, and to his side stood a giant with a scraggy blonde beard.

Eren pushed against his assailant, worried when the iron tight hold only increased. He was dimly aware of Armin grabbing one of the arms wrapped around him, but even then the hold never loosened. It was only when Erwin coughed in silent laughter that there was any reprieve.

“That’s enough, Hanji; I don’t want you to kill our new actor.” The arms withdrew completely, and Eren was finally able to get a good look at the hug monster that had attacked him. His entire person froze as he looked into a pair of familiar brown eyes, shielded by a pair of glasses. They’re brown hair was drawn into a messy ponytail and they wore such unusual clothes that he wouldn’t be surprised if they had just walked off a set. He was looking at… Scratch that, he had been attacked by the very famous actor, Hanji Zoe. He couldn’t believe it – he knew he told himself that there was a chance of running into someone famous, but he never truly believed it, and he definitely didn’t think he’d see someone famous in Erwin’s office.

“What a cutie, where did Erwin find you?” They were well known for being… eccentric, but even then he didn’t appreciate being talked about as though he was a pet. He pushed away the hand that crept towards his face, levelling them a glare long before he remembered who exactly he was glaring at. Not that they minded as they threw their head back and cackled insanely.

“I like this one! I’m Hanji Zoe, it’s nice to meet you!” He hesitantly took their hand, gritting his teeth as his entire arm was jarred by the brutal force they put behind the hand shake.

“Eren Jaeger.” Armin had been hanging back as soon as he realised that Hanji wasn’t a threat, quietly surveying the office, distantly aware that he was also being scrutinised by the men at the desk. Suddenly Hanji turned towards him, literally bounding one step, a distance that would normally take at least three.

“And who are you?” Armin put his hand out with a grimace, having already witnessed their type of shake and not wishing to be a willing participant.

“Armin Arlert, Eren’s manager.”

“Nice to meet youuu.” They looked at their watch before gasping dramatically. 

“Sorry to cut such a lovely first meeting in half, but I really need to run – I was needed on set about ten minutes ago. Until next time, boys!” They were halfway down the hall before they had finished speaking, and Eren could only guess that they had disturbed everyone in the surrounding offices. Though, it was likely that they were used to it. Erwin finally stood from his desk, leaning over to shake both their hands, albeit, much more gently than the eccentric actor had done.

“Erwin Smith; it’s nice to meet you Mr Arlert. I didn’t realise that you would be coming, but it is no issue; in fact I’m grateful to get to meet Eren’s manager from the get go.” Eren snorted.

“He would’ve come whether you wanted him to or not; he was convinced that you were some perv who wanted to shoot a porno.”

“Eren!” Armin looked frantically at the taller alphas to see whether he had offended them, but the two seemed more amused than anything else.

“It’s always wise to be cautious; I would act in the same manner had it been my friend and I hadn’t met the so called ‘director’. He gestured for them both to sit before reclaiming his own chair.

“This is Mike Zacharius,” he said, gesturing to the giant standing beside him. “He is my right hand man; any matters concerning the Survey Corps can be taken to him should I not be present.” The alpha moved around Erwin’s desk and took Armin’s hand as he leant down and sniffed at his neck. Armin looked cautiously at Erwin, slightly perturbed by the strange action, especially as Mike smiled after, but Erwin didn’t seem concerned.

“Please forgive Mike’s peculiar habit, he does it with everyone he meets for the first time.” Mike then proceeded to do the same with Eren, the small smile gracing his lips after a second longer than it did with Armin, but the pause wasn’t long enough to be noticeable by the two teenagers.

“Now, I guess we should talk business, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Read and review, and drop a kudo because I live for those things haha
> 
> Also, does anyone know how to make things bold/italics, when I copy and paste the chapter, it makes everything normal and I don't know how to change it back to bold or italic letters


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter :) I actually had more to this chapter, but I had to cut it for a certain reason, so without further ado, read and enjoy

                Eren could hardly contain his excitement as he sat in the office of Erwin Smith – he was at the Survey Corps! And he’d even been hugged by Hanji Zoe! It seemed too good to be true. After a few minutes of dazedly watching the man across from him, he realised that the conversation had never stopped flowing. With great effort, he managed to tune back into what was being said.

                “… the movie is set in a typical school, and the main character – hopefully played by you, Eren, is a struggling omega who faces the same hardships that any typical omega will have to face. You’re co-actor will be an alpha who, against the status quo generally established in schools, befriends you and helps you to find an inner strength to deal with your issues and the problems you have to face.” Eren found himself frowning slightly, something that the blonde man immediately saw.

                “Is there something wrong?” He debated speaking his mind and potentially loosing this fantastic opportunity, but ended up opening his mouth.

                “It’s just, why does the plot have to revolve around the necessity of an alpha to help the omega discover some hidden resolve? Omegas aren’t weak – I think that it would be better for the main character to stand up for themselves on their own. If omegas have to constantly rely on alphas, or even betas, to solve their problems, then nothing will ever be solved.” Determination shone brightly in the depths of his eyes, willing Erwin to argue with him. Instead, the blonde merely raised an eyebrow and smiled.

                “Exactly,” he replied, causing Eren to deflate in confusion. “You see, I prefer to push the boundaries of acceptability in my movies, and this issue of power distribution within society is such a controversial one that I can’t help but play around with it. However, not everyone is accepting of the idea of a ‘strong’ omega, as it doesn’t conform to societal ideas; this means that I can only have actors who believe in similar concepts as I do.” Eren still looked a little confused, but comprehension dawned across Armin’s face. Rather than letting the brunette mull over his words, he decided to just explain himself first.

                “The movie is actually dealing with the ideas of omega empowerment, though it is still set in a school because that is where notions of gender and society values are first established.” Eren slowly nodded his head in acceptance, realising that Erwin had just tested him.

                “Now, are you ready for your audition?” Eren’s head nodded vigorously, without a doubt in his mind.

                “Excellent! If you’ll just follow me, we’ll use one of the audition rooms, so you can get a sense of the atmosphere.” Erwin stood, and Eren was once struck with how large the man was as he strode across the office in a few easy strides. Mike followed without a word, though the brunette was starting to think that he didn’t say much to begin with. With a gesture, the two high schoolers followed down the hallway and into the elevator. Armin seemed completely at ease with the silence, but Eren was starting to fidget slightly – he’d always hated extended periods of no talking and it was starting to get to him. Luckily, the elevator stopped at some random floor before he could explode, and they swiftly entered one of the rooms on the floor before he could get a good look at the new location.

                Inside was just a plain, empty space, though he noticed that the walls (probably) ceiling was made with a special material that helped with sound resonance and amplification. It made sense, he supposed, considering the room’s purpose. Erwin retrieved some papers from the stack he was carrying, though Eren had no idea what the rest would possibly be for.

                “Here’s the part of the script I want you to read – feel free to just give it a quick look to so you can get a feel for the character. Armin, I’m sorry to say, but during this audition stage, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. It’s company policy that third parties aren’t involved in these kinds of things to prevent ideas or scripts being leaked to the public or other companies.”

                Armin frowned and had only opened his mouth to protest before Erwin was speaking again. “Not that I suspect you of corporate espionage, of course,” he said with a small laugh. “I’m just adhering to the rules; you’ll find s we work together that I’m a stickler for rules.” The smile never faded, and Armin found that he had no grounds for argument and so only gave a small, curt nod. Meanwhile, Eren had ignored the exchange as he looked through the papers Erwin had handed him.

                Armin briefly looked at Eren, muscles tensed, before exiting; he only just barely trusted Erwin enough to do so because he was one of the most respected men in the movie industry right now, with an impeccable reputation. Erwin locked eyes with Mike for a millisecond before sitting in the ‘judging’ chair and Mike exited after Armin as well.

                Eren was completely immersed in the words spread in front of him, reading the character that he would hopefully get to play. The first thing that struck him was how similar he was to the character. Most people would view this similarity as a blessing, because they believed it would help him better portray the character, but he just knew that it was actually the worst thing that could happen because it meant that there was a higher chance of him getting lost in the character and blurring the lines between his own thoughts and that of the character. He sighed mentally, but knew there was nothing he could do right now – maybe he would be able to interpret and tweak the character a little.

                When he felt that he had a good enough grasp of the character, he looked up to find Erwin reading through his stack of documents, Armin and Mike nowhere in sight. He cleared his throat slightly, not really wanting to interrupt if it was important. Erwin looked up immediately.

                “Ready?” Eren nodded with determination, fire blazing in his eyes; he could do this! Erwin smiled, attention solely on the brunette standing in the centre of the room. “Anytime you’re ready.” Eren took a few deep breaths before allowing the character to wash over him.

                “I can’t believe him! He’s… God, I hate him so much!” His fists clenched at his sides with barely contained anger; today had already been hard enough, what with the Matthews twins dumping water on him before school, but then that damn Tyler! He paced across the floor of the classroom. He’d ducked in here to escape from the lunchroom, but not that he _was_ here, he had no idea what to do. He let out a frustrated growl and swiped a hand through his already messy hair.

                “Stupid fucking alpha – thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants!” His eyes snapped with fury – he almost wanted that damn alpha to show his face right now so he can show him exactly what he’s thinking.

                “I’m going to punch him in the face. Right in his smug, stupid, ugly face.” With a few deep breaths and some more pacing, he finally felt himself calming down enough to think rationally. He knew people would be talking about him tomorrow, saying that he overreacted to a bit of good-natured touching.

                “Stupid people who say I overreacted,” he grumbled, the anger simmering down to self-pity. He hated how he had to be such an outcast just because he didn’t agree with situations like this. “I bet if he’d groped a beta people woulda cared, but noooo, I’m just expected to roll with it. ‘Oh thank you mister alpha for showing interest in me; do whatever you want because these moments are the highlights of my dull days’. Like hell!” Stupid Tyler and his stupid popularity; why did he feel the need to always pick on him? Were his days seriously not complete without a bit of tormenting?

                “I don’t get a damn what anyone says, this is bullying and harassment. Why can’t anyone see that? Why is this acceptable?” By this point, his anger was almost completely gone, instead being replaced with trepidation over what his mother would say.

                “What am I going to tell mum….? She already hates me ‘making a scene’.” He dropped to the ground with a drawn-out groan, His head dropping between his knees and fingers weaving between the brown locks.

                “Why does it always turn out like this…? I just want to be treated the same as everyone else… Why is that so wrong?” He remained in that position for a few more moments. After a beat longer, he raised his head and looked at Erwin, breaking character as he rose to his feet, hesitance and apprehension clear on his features. Erwin looked enraptured, and he only broke out of his inner thoughts when he noticed the turquoise gaze boring into his skin. The blonde man cleared his throat.

                “That was amazing; I knew that I wasn’t wrong when I picked you. Congratulations Eren, I’m going to be looking forward to working with you.” He stood up and strode over to the stunned boy, a warm smile and outstretched hand showing how serious he was. Eren looked at him with hiss wide, disbelieving eyes, hardly daring to believe him; things like this only happened in, ironically, the movies. He took the other hand in a daze.

                “How are you feeling?”

                “I can’t… I mean… Thank you so much! You won’t be disappointed; I’ll work harder than anyone, I promise!” He beamed upwards, and Erwin let out a small chuckle.

                “I’m glad to hear that. The scripting sessions haven’t been fully finalised yet, but I’ll contact Armin the times and days that I’ll require your presence.” It was so professional – all correspondence would be through his manager, just like he dreamed it would be like. He nodded, though he wasn’t completely certain why. The two of them left the room, and Eren was surprised to the orangey light filtering into the hall through the windows; he hadn’t realised how late it had been getting.

                “I should warn you now though; there will be a few actors that you have to work beside in this movie who don’t necessarily… hold the same views on omegas that I would prefer for this particular work.” He found himself frowning – hadn’t Erwin stated earlier that he was only hiring people with specific ideologies?

               “These actors and crew members have been hired due to a number of different reasons that I can’t disclose to you, but I assure you that it will not affect any acting performances, I promise.”

                “Ok…” It was a bummer that they held the same kind of views pounded into everybody’s minds since childhood, but if it wouldn’t affect them professionally, then he didn’t really understand why Erwin would bring it up. _I guess he’s just that nice of a guy_.

                “Eren! How’d it go?” Armin hurried over as soon as he saw his best friend leaving the audition room. The next ten minutes consisted of them exchanging contact details and then Armin and Eren were taking their leave.

                When they were finally on the road again, Eren couldn’t stop talking about how the audition had gone, and about how happy he was for this opportunity. It wasn’t until half an hour had passed that Eren realised that Armin had anything the entire time. Considering that this was a three hour journey, he really didn’t want to be stuck in a car with the blonde if he was mad for some reason – it never was an enjoyable experience.

                “Ar, are you ok?” His hands tightened minutely around the steering wheel, but he nodded.

                “Are you sure; you look like you want to rip that wheel off. What’s wrong?” Armin only exhaled in irritation, but he could tell that it wasn’t directed at him.

                “I’m sorry, Eren, it’s just something Mike said, but as I told you, it’s nothing. It just irritated me a little, but I’ll get over it.” Eren frowned, but he knew from experience that if Armin didn’t want to say anything, he wouldn’t. But he also knew that the blonde would come to him when he was ready to talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Eren quietly entered the silent house, feeling tired after his long day, though still satisfied. He felt like he was drifting along in a dream, and nothing could bring him down. Or so he thought until a bottle came whizzing past, the glass exploding against the wall just centimetres from his face. He stilled almost instantly in shock.

                “Where have you been? I got home an hour ago and I’m fucking starving.” Eren turned slowly on his heel, his fists clenching at his sides, but he made sure to avoid eye contact – there was no point deliberately antagonising the man lounging casually.

                “I’m sorry, I was with Armin,” he said in as normal a tone as he could. “I’ll get started on dinner right now.” Grisha narrowed his eyes dangerously, but made no more violent moves, which Eren took as his queue to leave. As soon as he managed to reach the safety of the kitchen all the air deflated out of his lungs. Why did everything have to be so tense all the time? He hated this atmosphere; why did his dad have to come home today of all days? His brow drew down into a deep frown as he grabbed pots and pans needed to cook the food, hating how he his day could be ruined in just under 20 seconds. He could hear his father in the room if he strained his ears hard enough, but it didn’t sound like he was doing anything.

                Dinner was ready in record time as he didn’t want to further irritate the older man, and it wasn’t long until he was calling him to the table. Grisha sauntered into the area, scowling with distaste at the table. Due to the time constraint, Eren had made quick, yet delicious spaghetti. It was a recipe that he personally loved, and it had minimal cleanup required. However, looking at Grisha glaring at it from behind his glasses, he wondered whether he had made the right choice.

                “What is that?” His tone was deceptively calm, and Eren felt the hair on his arms raise.

                “Spaghetti,” he replied, keeping his tone level, but already sensing the beginnings of a storm brewing.

                “What day is it?” His eyebrows drew down in confusion.

                “Wed… nesday.” Wednesday’s were usually steak nights. And he’d cooked spaghetti.

                “I can see that you understand, so I’m going to ask again: what the fuck is this shit?” His voice rose marginally at the end of his sentence, elevated but not quite yelling. Eren’s hands clenched into fists as he bit his bottom lip. He refused to say anything in retaliation – there was no point aggravating the situation even more.

                “Answer me you little shit! What is this?!” And the yelling began. All he wanted to do was escape to the safe haven of his room.

                “I’m sorry.” His voice was soft and weak. He hated it.

                “Look at me when you speak.” With effort, he raised his head and looked eyes with the man who claimed to be his father.

                “I’m sorry.”

                Smack!

                His head cracked to the side and he stumbled a little as his father back handed him. A few tears rose unbidden into his eyes, from both the pain and humiliation of the situation.

                “You’re sorry? That’s the only thing you have to say? That’s. Not. Good enough!” He grabbed the front of Eren’s shirt and threw him against the table, uncaring as his son’s body collided harshly with the solid wood and slumped to the ground. He’d put his hands out to break his fall when he’d been thrown, but it hadn’t been enough to stuck his momentum. He sat on the ground, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him, ignoring the stinging pain radiating from his face and his hands.

                Grisha grabbed one of the plates and threw it against the floor next to Eren. He raised his arms up to protect his face as shards of porcelain sprayed against him, the spaghetti sauce going everywhere. His breathing was becoming heavier, eyes wide with distress. He was trying to get himself under control, but he felt his tight grasp over his emotions starting to unravel. The air was becoming increasingly thick with dominating smells, pushing down against him making it even harder to breathe. The man took two steps and easily picked Eren up, loose shards falling to the ground.

                “First, you’re late getting home after doing who the hell knows what, and then you makes this shit that literally took 20 minutes like the lazy shit that you are. You’re slipping, Eren, and as my son I won’t let that fucking happen. You better not be getting bad grades at school, because I swear to god that if you fail even a single test then it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” His glare had Eren drawing back into himself; he only ever acted like this around Grisha – the man always terrified him, no matter he said or did. When the boy still didn’t reply, Grisha threw him back to the ground with disgust, the broken plate cutting into his tender skin.

                “I’m going out; I might as well try and at least get a decent meal somewhere. Make sure you clean this damn mess up. If there’s even a single spot uncleaned, there will be hell to pay, do you understand me boy?” He nodded vigorously without hesitation, hoping that he could hurry the man out the door. Just out of spite, the violent alpha grabbed the other plate and chucked it at the white wall of the dining room, watching the spaghetti crash to the floor for a second before turning on his heel and marching out the front door, slamming it behind him.

                Eren groaned – washing the white walls so that they were spotless was the hardest thing in the world, and he _knew_ that Grisha knew that. Dragging himself to his feet, he winced in pain, feeling small spots of blood seeping into his clothes from where the broken plate had broken the skin. Willing himself to ignore his body’s discomfort, he ran a bucket of soapy water and began to clean up the mess all over the floor and wall. His stomach growled in protest as he mopped up the pasta and its sauce, wishing that it was in his belly rather than on the ground.

                Moments like this between him and Grisha really made him miss his mother; nothing like this would ever happen had she been alive. When she was alive, they had been happy; the perfect family. Grisha hadn’t smiled once since before the funeral, which had been seven years ago. Would Carla be sad to see how her loving family had turned out? It wasn’t something he even needed to ask; the answer was obvious. He let his head rest gently against the wooden leg of the table as he sat on his knees, hands turning pruny from the sponge he still held onto. Warm droplets of water started to roll silently down his cheeks, but he couldn’t find the will to care or energy to wipe them away. He didn’t know which he preferred: the days on end when Grisha refused to come home, or the days when he did return, and he hated thinking something like that.

                After a few hours of scrubbing, he determined the task to finally be complete and he trudged slowly to his room, not even in the mood to try and fix himself some food. Changing into some comfortable pjs, he curled up loosely around his pillows, hugging them to his chest. His eyes fell to his phone and noticed the flashing blue light to show he had a message.

                **From: Armin 7:19**

                _I know I was quiet in the car, and I’m sorry for that, but I forgot to say something very important: congratulations Eren, you truly deserve this and I’m so proud of you. I’ll see you tomorrow._

                He sniffed pathetically as he read the message again. Even if things were sort of rocky between him and his dad, he knew that he could always rely on Armin to lift his spirits; Armin was his true family.

                The next day at school was completely normal, almost like the previous day hadn’t even happened, as though he hadn’t been given a role in a movie. The familiarity was nice, but it also felt strange in a way. Armin only laughed when he voiced his thoughts.

                “Don’t worry about it Eren, I’m sure your life will be abnormal soon enough with the fans and the paparazzi and all that.”

                “That’s not what I meant,” he grumbled, giving the blonde a mock glare, eliciting another laugh.

                “I know, and I also get what you mean; I almost don’t know what to do with myself, so I can only imagine it’s even worse for you.”

                The rest of the day was the same as every other day that he had sat through in a classroom. Yet everything in his world had changed, and he wasn’t sure how to adjust. This feeling remained over the next few weeks: he would wake up, go to school, sit through the boring, mundane classes, hang out with Armin, go home and repeat the next day. He couldn’t wait until the day that Erwin would call and say that he was ready to get things rolling.

                It took four weeks and five days for Erwin to contact Armin (not that Eren had been counting), informing him that Eren was needed on Saturday to collect the finished script, and perhaps meet some of the other actors that had been cast. He was more than excited, and Saturday couldn’t arrive quickly enough. It was all Armin could do to keep the shorter brunette occupied throughout the rest of the week and keep him from getting in trouble at school.

                Saturday morning found Eren bounding towards Armin’s car, an excitable ball of nervous energy, and Armin groaned internally at the thought of being stuck with him for hours while he was like this; this type of Eren could barely stay still for even a second. Armin pulled out of the driveway just as another car was pulling in. Eren didn’t notice, but Armin narrowed his eyes as he spotted Grisha Jaeger through the back car window. Driving away, he couldn’t help but think murderous thoughts before allowing Eren’s endless prattle to soothe his nerves.

                Luckily, the drive didn’t end up being as bad as he thought it would be, though they did have to stop a few times. One of the times was on the side of the highway just so Eren could do a few star jumps to rid himself of his built up energy. The blonde had no idea how he could build up the energy like this, but he supposed it was just one of the quirks that made up Eren Jaeger. He remembered back to a time when the shorter boy had released that pent up energy in the form of rage, and violent outbursts that caused more than one problem, but luckily that was an issue of the past.

               Pulling up into the same car park that they had a few weeks previously, the headed inside the large building, once more feeling slightly overwhelmed by the oozing sense of professionalism. The same blonde sat behind the reception desk, engaged in a phone conversation, but her blue eyes locked on the duo as they bypassed her desk, Armin dragging Eren behind him to the elevator. Erwin had informed him that they wouldn’t be required to sign in as visitors, and so had no business with the front desk and where allowed to just go straight to the meeting venue.

                “What if they don’t like me?” The elevator doors had just swished closed when Eren’s face scrunched up with mild distress; he always seemed so sure of himself, as though he didn’t give a single care to what anyone thought of him. But, Armin knew that it was just a façade, and that he really cared a lot about others’ opinions of him.

                “I’m sure they won’t–”

                “What if they’re all famous?! I wouldn’t fit in being the only amateur if that were the case.”

                “Eren, you’re going to fine, ok? Just don’t think about any of that stuff and everything will work out.” The doors opened before the brunette could reply, watching as a large, blonde alpha entered, exuding pheromones like crazy, with an insanely tall brunette at his side. Armin was unable to tell what the brunette was because the smell of the alpha was too thick in the small, enclosed area. The two boys were silent, but the blonde’s booming voice would have drowned out any conversation they could have held.

                “–and I swear that she was just begging for me to take her home, but I couldn’t get passed her damn snaggle tooth; like serious, go to the fucking dentist and get that shit fixed.” He laughed, not caring that his friend only chuckled nervously, looking over to Armin and Eren awkwardly.

                Eren frowned; he reminded him of those stupid jocks from school – the ones who thought they were better than anyone else just because they were even mildly athletically gifted. As he continued to talk about his various conquests and drunken experiences over the last few weeks, the taller brunette tried to shush him, his look apologetic to the younger males, and it took a few minutes before the blonde realised that his friend was no longer laughing at his antics and stories. His eyes widened when he noticed the awkward atmosphere, his eyes travelling to the two standing behind him.

                “Shit, I’m sorry; didn’t see you guys there,” he laughed loudly, as though he was talking about a joke. “Hopefully I didn’t make ya’s uncomfortable or anything.” He seemed nice enough, and Eren felt a little bad for jumping to conclusions about him just because of his choice of recreational activities. The brown eyes lingered slightly on the younger brunette, the look in his eyes intensifying briefly before he smiled widely. Armin narrowed his eyes dangerously in retaliation, a clear challenge that the blonde seemed to pick up on immediately. The scent of the two silently warring alphas made the air so thick it was hard to breathe, but the tallest boy didn’t look as though it affected him – probably used to his friend’s antagonistic tendencies. A beat passed before the larger alpha begrudgingly backed down, smiling again.

                “I’m Reiner, and this is Bertholt; it’s nice to meet ya.” Armin felt relieved – he wasn’t one hundred percent certain of his chances of winning a physical altercation with another alpha; his area of expertise easily laid in his intelligence over his strength.

                “I’m Eren!” he thrust out his hand enthusiastically, a large smile adorning his features; if the two were in the building than they were most likely part of the industry, meaning that was possibly making his first friends in the business. Reiner raised an eyebrow at the displayed enthusiasm, a smirk staying in place as his large hand encompassed the smaller one.

                “Armin.” The shorter blonde also offered his hand to the two, more than ready to reach their floor and leave the two behind. A small ding indicated that they had reached a floor, and Armin easily directed Eren into the hallway, more than annoyed when they were followed out by their new ‘friends’.

                “Oh, you two are headed this way as well? Where’re ya going?”

                “Room 107.” Reiner strode so he was easily walking on the other side of Eren.

                “Really, that’s great! We’re going to room 107 as well!” Eren’s eyes sparkled in awe as he gazed up at Reiner. If they were headed to the same location than they were involved in the same movie; this was amazing – he’d already made friends with one of his colleagues.

                “Joy…” Armin murmured as Bertholt chuckled nervously, something he seemed to do frequently.

                The four of them reached their room, and with a quick, deep breathe, Eren pushed it open, unsure of what he expected, but the almost casual business atmosphere was not it. In the centre of the room sat a large square table with chairs around it and around the edges of the room milled a few people who looked even more uncertain than Eren felt. It lifted his spirits to know that Erwin hadn’t only chosen high profile names – if he’d even chosen any to begin with.

                “Eeeeerrrrrreeeeennnn!!!” He was completely unprepared for the hurricane that flung themselves across the room from some hidden recess that he hadn’t noticed on his first cursory glance. Strong arms wrapped around him in a tight death grip, squeezing the very life out of his frame. He expected Armin to immediately go on the defence for him – as was typical of the blonde – but it was a different blonde who came to his aid this time. Reiner pried the arms from him so that he could finally see who the maniacally laughing individual was, their voice only seeming slightly familiar.

                Hanji beamed at him, oblivious to the glares she was receiving from two blonde, overprotective alphas.

                “It’s been so long since I last saw you, how’ve you been, kiddo? Probably amazing since you got the role of your dreams; this is your boost into stardom! And I’m going to help you as much as I can!” They prattled on in his ear, linking arms and drawing him against their side, acting as though they were old friends who had known each other for years rather than strangers who had only met once before.

As soon as that thought passes through his mind, another one raced to the front to take its place: _the_ Hanji Zoe was linked arms with him and chatting as though they were best friends as though there wasn’t a huge status gap between them; as though they weren’t incredibly famous. If they were here, did that mean they had a role in the movie? It they did, than he might just have to go home and hyperventilate a little out of giddiness. Just how many big name actors were a part of this movie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter shouldn't take too long - it's almost halfway finished. And there's a surprise next chapter, so something to look forward to :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter ^_^ I'm so psyched at how much people are enjoying this, though I suppose you do get some people who leave mean comments. First, I should say this is unbeta'd - not even by myself, though I should really read back over my own work for mistakes haha.
> 
> Second, I love comments, whether it's something to help, give constructive criticism or to just say how much you love it (hint hint haha), but I would appreciate it if you didn't leave comments that are intended to be deliberately hurtful because I will delete it. And for anyone who thinks a/b/o is 'satanic garabage' please don't read - why read something that makes you uncomfortable?
> 
> Anyway, for those that do want to read, continue on ^_^

                The alarm screaming through the air only elicited a very annoyed grumble. A pale hand broke free from the warm confines to violent strike at the offending device, but it missed. The thought of taking the little device to his balcony and chucking it as far as he could, watching as it soared out of sight, crossed his mind with satisfaction, but he knew he couldn’t follow through with his desires. His hand finally made contact with the alarm, providing silence. Should he feel guilty that he decided to just go back to sleep? He found that he didn’t care.

                “Honey, do you want me to make you breakfast?” His face scrunched up against his pillow at the unfamiliar voice. Why were they in his apartment? He finally opened his eyes and peaked his head out of the sheets to look blearily at the intruder, seeing a blonde woman standing in his doorway, wearing only a long button up shirt. _My shirt_ , was the first thing to run across his mind. It took a few more seconds to remember who she was; they’d met last night at some bar before he brought her home with him. It was strange that she had stuck around, and he had no idea what her name was, but if she was offering to make actual food than he would jump on that chance immediately. He hated having to eat out just for breakfast.

                “Sure.” However, it did mess with his desire to sleep. Hopefully it would take a long time to cook. Deciding to take his chances, he allowed the dreamland to reclaim him.

                “Babe?” A small hand was on his shoulder to shake him awake, though he could tell she was hesitant. With a growl that had her recoiling, he finally sat up, his dissatisfaction and annoyance showing very clearly on his face. He didn’t understand why she kept calling him by these pet names – did she not know that he was only going to tolerate her presence until the food was eaten, and that was because she made it. Normally, she would have already been kicked out.

                He stretched languidly and stood from his bed, swiping the expensive phone that rested beside it before plodding into the kitchen. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he saw the unnamed female eying his chiselled chest with longing. Perhaps she wouldn’t outstay her welcome for a few more hours. He gave her another look over; she was very easy on the eyes, though he hated the fact that she was wearing his shirt – she probably hadn’t had a shower yet, and the shirt had been clean, meaning that he would need to wash it.

                The food looked great, with the table adorned with pancakes and French toast. It was a lot more than he was used to eating in the morning. Technically it wasn’t morning per se, but he considered any time that he wakes up to be morning. The unnamed blonde shifted nervously beside him while he started to eat, unnerved that he hadn’t commented on whether he liked it or not. He gave a scoff at her insecurity, but she was unwilling to voice any thoughts.

                “Sit down.” It was a command, and she responded immediately, dropping gracefully into a chair, but that’s all. He internally growled in frustration.

                “Eat the damn food.” Another command that she followed without hesitation. She was just another dumb omega whore who was only good to look at. Sometimes he wondered if they even had brains. After the food was eaten and the dishes washed (he’d insisted), he gave her one more cursory look. She was pretty, but he wouldn’t call her beautiful (he had obviously been smashed when he picked her up), but he figured, if she was already here…

                Walking forward, he raised a hand to cup her chin, directing her face up to look at him, and she looked as though she was on cloud 9 at the attention. This caused him to snort mentally, but didn’t show it on his face, instead allowing a smouldering smirk to spread across his features. Subconsciously, he marvelled at how he could totally get this girl back in his bed even though he had barely spoken to her, and the few things he’d said this morning were commands. _Such a slut_.

                He’d just wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close, when his phone went off, the jarring ring tone ruining whatever mood he’d started to set. He scowled; it was a personalised tone that only rang for one person. Breaking away from the other, he grabbed the device and jabbed at it with more force than necessary.

                “What,” he deadpanned, eyes already lidding in irritation. He saw the girl shift awkwardly in his peripherals, but he ignored her.

                “Ah, Levi, you seem to be in a good mood.” The sarcastic reply had him rolling his eyes.

                “I asked what you wanted eyebrows, so answer the damn question.”

                “I’ve started a new script that I’d like you to be involved with. I know that you’ve just finished a movie – which was very nice, might I say – so I know that you have the time.” Erwin’s smooth voice rolled out of the phone filter, and all Levi wanted to do was hit him.

               “I thought I told you last time that I didn’t want to work with you anymore.” His reply sounded petulant and childish, even he could recognise that, but he didn’t care as long as he got his way. He heard Erwin sigh.

                “I know what you said, but I already talked to Petra, and she agreed that this movie would be good for you.”

                “You went behind my back to talk to my manager? That’s low.”

                “As a director, it would be unprofessional to confer with the actor directly; the unspoken rule is to bring new roles to the manager rather than the person they represent,” he said smugly, though Levi felt his eye twitch.

               “Uh huh, so Petra already accepted? I don’t know what the issue is; I still only do movies made by the Survey Corps, I just don’t do them with you.”

                “What can I do to help you put that issue behind you and stop complaining about working my movies? I’ve been missing you on set lately.” The pale man ran a hand through his hair, hating how messy it was at the moment. In fact, all he wanted right now was a shower.

                “Fine, what’s the role?” He could almost hear the smile in Erwin’s reply.

                “You’ll be playing a school student who is, quite frankly, a bit of a bully. Your character is fixated on the main character, who doesn’t give you the time of day; in fact, they don’t like you and constantly challenge you at every turn. This, eventually, just makes you want them more. The idea behind the movie is omega empowerment, and showing that omegas don’t necessarily have to be tied to an alpha. It’s somewhat a critique of social conventions, but there will be other things involved. I understand that it isn’t an action movie – which I know is your favourite genre – but this kind of slice of life story should also be right up your alley.”

                “Why?” His question made the other man pause, trying to figure out what exactly he was asking ‘why’ to.

                “Why what? Why am I asking you to play this role?” Levi brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose.

                “No, what’s the point of the purpose? Why present this idea of omega empowerment when it has absolutely no grounds in reality.”

                “I keep trying to tell you that omegas can be strong, you just need to give them a chance since most of them have been completely oppressed.” His silvery-blue eyes rolled over to the blonde female who hadn’t moved an inch throughout the entire conversation. He wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to dismiss her or not, but her actions only helped solidify his own opinions.

                “Whatever, I suppose movies don’t need to be realistic anyway. So who’ve you casted for the leading role?”

                “I don’t know yet; I’ve auditioned 84 people so far, but none of them seem to… fit, but I’m not sure what it is that they’re missing. It’s fine, I’ll get someone eventually.”

                “Right, well I need to get going. Give the information to Petra, don’t bother phoning back ‘cause I won’t answer.”

                “Ok, well, bye Le–” He tossed the electronic device casually on the table, heading back towards his room. The blonde didn’t move, but he didn’t expect her to – he hadn’t given her any instructions, after all.

                “If you don’t come now, than you can just get out.” Her eyes lit up in happiness – she was probably expecting to be kicked out after the phone call had destroyed the mood earlier. It didn’t take any more prompting for her to speed walk to the bedroom after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                “Leeevvvviiiiii!” He heard the voice long before he saw the person behind it, already cringing with distaste. Hanji came barrelling down the hallway of the Survey Corps; he’d just stepped out of Erwin’s office after getting the script for this new movie, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t run into the eccentric person. It was to no avail – Erwin had probably given them a heads up that he was there, that traitor. Even though he’d had plenty of time to steel himself, he was still unprepared for the small force of nature that collided with him, the strong arms trapping him in a death grip.

                Hanji laughed maniacally as they lifted their feet of the ground, hanging solely from around his neck. He refused to put his arms around them to help give support as they hung, secretly hoping that they’d fall flat on their ass.

                “I hope you lose your grip and fall flat on your ass, shitty glasses.” … Or, perhaps not so secretly. Hanji only kept laughing.

                “Silly, grumpy Levi, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in foreveeeeeer!” They finally released their tight hold, placing their feet back under them.

                “You broke into my apartment three days ago, that’s hardly ‘foreveeeeeer’,” he said monotonously, clearly unimpressed with their antics. Hanji pouted.

                “Three days is a long time; did you know in friend world that three days is the same as thirty years?” He rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the elevator, choosing to just ignore the insane ball of energy that decided to follow him. He wondered if he would be able to make it to the elevator with enough time to close the doors and leave them behind. Doubtful. Maybe he could press two floor buttons and duck out the door quickly on one of the floors… they’d probably get out at the next floor and race up the stairs after him. He let out a clearly audible sigh as he realised that there was no way to get rid of them. Meanwhile, Hanji hadn’t stopped talking for even a second.

                “– and I heard that you decided to accept Erwin’s job proposal! Good for you grumpy pants; it’s about time the two of you patched up your differences and worked together again. It’s been so awkward having to visit you both separately when all I really want is to have a group get together where we can all see each other and hang out and be best friends again probably at one of our houses because I know how you hate to eat out because of the ‘unsanitary’ nature of most restaurants though I think you might be too harsh in that assessment because I’m sure that if you gave a restaurant a chance than you might find that it–”

                “For the love of god, will you shut up?” He could feel a headache building with every word that spewed from their mouth. Conversing with Hanji could be such a chore sometimes.

                “But seriously, you’re working Erwin’s new movie?”

                “Yeah, he called me about it a few days ago. Fucking Petra agreed on my behalf before he talked to me though.” Hanji cackled – it was well known that the red headed beta could get Levi to do whatever she wanted.

                “I’m thinking I want to be in it too. It isn’t fair if you guys leave me out.” He raised an eyebrow incredulously.

                “Aren’t you already working a job?”

                “Yeah, but it’s in its end stage, and Erwin doesn’t even have a lead yet, so I figure I have some time to wrap up. I’m sure if I ask Erwin, he’ll find a place to slot me in.”

                “Hmm.” He usually tried to convince people that he would rather shoot himself than work with the eccentric actor; but truthfully, it was something that he always enjoyed. He didn’t like most people, but the ones he did, he generally enjoyed their company.

                “So what are you doing right now?” He shrugged and gave a non-committal noise and thinking of perhaps heading home, maybe finish that book that he’s been meaning to read… Hanji let out a shriek, startling him out of his thoughts.

                “WE SHOULD TOTALLY HANG OUT RIGHT NOW!!” He scowled in annoyance, pulling away harshly at the louder than necessary words, and then using that same scowl to visualise his distaste for the meaning of the words.

                “No.”

                “But–”

                “No.” They pouted and linked arms with him, though he tried to pull away to avoid the contact. They dragged him away from the elevator and towards a different hallway, his eyes rolling when he realised whose office they were heading towards. Before long, Hanji was bursting through one of the plain, non-descript doors, dragging him after them. Petra looked up from her work in surprise at the dramatic entrance, relaxing when she saw who it was.

                “I thought I said I didn’t want to hang out–”

                “Oh shush you. Petra! I hear you managed to bridge the gap between our two stubborn boys. Petra the miracle working.” Petra laughed lightly, her brown eyes shining with happiness.

                “I didn’t really do anything; I’m just glad Levi decided to say yes – you know how stubborn he can be when he puts his mind to it.”

                “I know; it can be soooo annoying sometimes.” Levi yanked his arm free and plopped down in one of the cushioned seats across from Petra’s desk.

                “I am _right_ here.” She waved his words with a nonchalant wave. The two of them continued to talk and laugh – mostly at his expense – but he tuned them out, once more flipping his new script open. His eyebrows knitted together as he continued to read, wishing for the millionth time that he had just put his foot down, regardless of Petra. From what he could gather, his character was meant to be portrayed as, well… an asshole and a bully to some omega character, and as a result he was not meant to be liked.

However, despite reading the obvious tones meant to direct audience sympathies and emotions, he could not honestly see why his character was meant to be viewed so harshly. Wasn’t he just acting normally? He raised a hand and messaged his temple, his glare strengthening when he realised that two sets of eyes were now trained on him.

                “What,” he snapped, wishing that at least one of them would recoil, even slightly, but all he received were humoured expressions. He’d known both for too long for his looks to be taken seriously, which sometimes annoyed him; _‘fear means that they respect you’_ had been one of his uncle’s favourite phrases while growing up.

                “Do you like the script,” Petra asked sweetly, cocking her head to the side in a way that she knew was cute and endearing. He gave a snort at her actions, knowing that if he said anything negative that her stance would become passive aggressive until he gave in to whatever she wanted. The woman was pure evil in her manipulations; he could respect that.

                “It’s fine.” Petra frowned at the lacklustre enthusiasm, but Hanji bounced up onto the balls of their feet, not caring at all about his tone and only focussing on the words.

                “Right, right? I told Erwin you’d love it! He was super worried that you’d go and throw it at his head after reading it –” “Don’t give him any ideas.” “But I told him he had no cause to be concerned. And I was right!” Suddenly two large brown eyes were up close and personal with his face, the other moving so fast that he barely had enough time to through himself backwards in order to avoid what would have been a very painful headbutt. He could almost see the excitement oozing off them, making him cringe internally. An excited Hanji was always a bad idea.

                “Isn’t it so touching? So inspiring? I don’t think any film-makers have really touched on the idea of an independent omega before, except maybe Moy and Curtis back in the ‘90’s, but such a change in socially accepted dynamics was even less well-received than what it would be now but I know that Erwin has struck gold with this idea even though I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the whole ‘school life’ genre but it shows that he’s aiming this towards teenagers who would be the predominant audience and trying to invoke social change at the base level though if he wanted to do that then maybe he should have made it for children though most children don’t have thecapacitytounderstandwhatexactlyitisthatheistryingtogetacross –”

                “Shut the fuck up, shitty glasses!” How could they talk so much without taking a breath or dying? “I have no idea what you’re rambling about, but just be quiet and get out of my face.” Hanji laughed but moved backwards anyway.

“Sorry,” they stated, though he couldn’t detect even a little bit of sincerity, causing him to sigh. Interactions with Hanji tended to leave him with the worst headaches, and he could already feel one forming.

                “But you have to admit that it’s an interesting concept. True, the plot behind the movie – bully is mean to the person they like in an attempt to hide their feelings, but they get together in the end anyway – is a bit tired, but the hidden meaning behind the entire thing gives the idea new life.”

                “What are you talking about? That’s not the plot, though I think that what you’re saying about the underlying message is the same as what’s in here.” His words caused them to pause.

                “What? How is that not the plot? I read it last week, maybe you’re just reading it wrong.”

                “Actually, Hanji,” Petra spoke up, leaning forward slightly in her chair. “I heard that Erwin’s found someone that he wants to play the lead role, and he got Mike to make a few adjustments to the script to better suit his new vision, or something like that.” Hanji’s eyes lit up again, ripping another sigh from the raven-haired man. _Fuck, they’d just calmed down as well._

                “Erwin finally found someone?! AND HE DIDN’T TELL ME?!?!”

                “Why the hell would he tell you? You aren’t even one of the actors involved.” They ignored him as they paced the room, and he was worried that their excitement was bordering on deranged.

                “I should go meet them,” they declared suddenly after a few minutes.

                “Mike told me that Erwin hasn’t even spoken to this person yet, so they might decline –”

                “Wait, you’re telling me that Erwin’s picked some random person to be the lead without even knowing if they want to be in a movie? Is it even an actor?” Levi heard the derision dripping from his tone, but he couldn’t help it; he knew the blonde alpha sometimes did crazy things when it came to his movies, but this was just seemed insane.

                “Ooooh! What if he picked an omega, wouldn’t that just be perfect?” Levi scoffed, and even Petra raised an eyebrow at the ridiculous suggestion.

                “Oi, idiot, there’s a reason why there’s no omegas on the big screen – they can’t work for shit, they always complain about something or other, they can’t handle the stress and pressure placed on them, and they break into tears the first time something even a little bad is sad about them. You need tough skin to work in this business, and they don’t have it.”

                “But wouldn’t it be amazing? What better way to show omega empowerment than having an actual omega resisting an alpha.” Levi barked out a laugh at that, an omega resisting an alpha? _My pheromones are so strong and powerful that I doubt even a beta could resist me if I tried._

                “Hanji, Levi’s right, omegas don’t really have a place here; we need to keep things running smoothly, without having to always stop for breaks.” Hanji frowned at their two friends, but knew that the concerns were valid. After all, the numbers spoke for themselves, and there was not a single omega actor or actress – there weren’t even that many betas.

                “Look, I’m not going to lie, I think this is a shit idea – told as much to Erwin – but I’ll make it the best piece of shit that I can. I just don’t see the point of trying to change anyone’s views; it’s just a fact that omegas are weak, delicate beings that need to be protected, and alphas are strong, powerful and successful contributors to society.” Hanji shook their head in disappointment.

                “You know, before I decided that the big screen was the place I was meant to be, I was a scientific researcher, working in this huge lab just outside of Karanese. My primary field of research was looking into the specifics of the pheromones that the different genders release and how they affected each gender. Obviously there’s a lot of science behind it, and I won’t go into it right now, unless you want me to –”

                “Just cut to the chase.”

                “Ok, maybe another time? Right, what I want to say is that, yes, there wasn’t a trial that was conducted where the omega subject didn’t react poorly or subservient to the alpha’s pheromones, but I discovered something about the omega’s (and even a beta’s, though their scent is much, much more subdued, practically non-existent) ability to react to pheromones. Based on a latent activation mechanism within the liquid component of the scent gland, I found that both betas and omegas possess the ability to potentially resist the pheromones of a different gender. However, while this potential exists, most do not have the activator – I suppose, you could call it the ‘key’ – to unlock this mechanism to release the inhibiting chemicals that block any incoming pheromones. It’s all very interesting, and if a serum could be created, and administered in a similar method to a vaccine, that would provide these necessary chemicals, than the desire to be subservient, or even the intense need to fight a fellow alpha, will be reduced to nearly zero. We would no longer be slaves to instincts and pheromones, and we would be free to make our own decisions.”

                “Why had this research never been released to the public?” Petra leant back in her chair as she viewed the ex-scientist with curiosity. The science (which Hanji had said would be omitted) had gone over her head, but the overall subject matter was still interesting. Hanji smiled sheepishly.

                “Well, technically it’s still just a hypothetical theory right now considering all the practical tests failed, and such a theory would never be well-received by the public without any kind of backing, so… But I’ve done extensive research, and the math is all right for the chemical equations, so I am positive that it can be done!”

                “Bullshit.” He crossed his arms across his chest, glaring at the brunette who, surprisingly, leveled a glare right back at him.

                “It isn’t; it’s the truth”  
                “Then why hasn’t it worked? I’m sure you were able to create some kind of prototype injection.” His tone was challenging, and the brunette started to rise to the bait before deflating slightly.

                “I did, but there was something missing, I’m just not sure what…” A contemplative look stretched across their features for a moment, but Levi was done with this; he just wanted to get home and be done with all this omega and science shit. Without a word, he rose gracefully to his feet and left, though he spared Petra a polite nod before making his escape. He only felt slightly bad that he’d left Hanji there with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, it's Levi ^_^ next chapter will also follow Levi. I know he seems like a jerk at the moment, but I'm sure you've been able to pick up that there is a reason for his beliefs. More specifics will come later :)  
> For now, comment/kudo/bookmark - I feed of those things haha


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, but here's the next chapter :)

                Levi flopped back onto his bed, one of his pale arms flinging across his eyes with a huff. It had been a few weeks since signing up to Erwin’s stupid movie, but there had still yet to be their first script run through – apparently Erwin still hadn’t found a leading actor. He groaned in annoyance and doubt; it had been literally months since Erwin had first proposed his new movie idea to the higher ups, but he hadn’t even assembled a full cast, and Levi was starting to doubt that it was even going to go ahead. He was almost tempted to go ahead with Kitts Woerman’s script that had been offered to him a few days ago.

                “LEVI!!!! Guess what!” He sat up instantly, eyes barely going wide before he was attacked, his back forcefully pressed into his soft sheets. The next instant found him looking down at insane brown eyes after rolling them over. Hanji grinned upwards, their smile not faltering even slightly, even as his glare increased.

                “What are you doing in here, shitty glasses? Did you even knock?” Hanji laughed and waved their hand in dismissal, completely uncaring of their current position.

                “Why knock when I can just use my key?” “A key that I never gave you; I still want that back by the way –” “But that’s not important. Has Erwin phoned you yet?” His eyes narrowed further.

                “No, why would he phone?” Hanji burst upwards, their head colliding into his, but Hanji was too busy doing whatever it was that they normally did to register pain.

                “WHAT!?” He threw them onto the ground, wincing at the shrill shriek – the human voice shouldn’t be allowed to go that high. They sprung off the floor, landing in a crouched position in front of him, their eyes wide behind their glasses. Levi frowned with derision at the almost literal steam billowing from their flared nostrils.

                “HOW COULD HE NOT HAVE PHONED YET?!?!? He’s found his lead actor, and I saw him in Erwin’s office – he’s such a total cutie! Apparently the first script reading won’t be for a few weeks – legalities and all that. But the important point is that it’s beginning!”

                “About damn time,” Levi murmured, wishing that the crazy brunette would just hurry up and leave so he could get something to eat.

                “Awww, give him some slack, he’s been trying his best to put everything together – it just took a bit longer than he thought it would to find a lead –”

                “Don’t care; does he know how many other offers I’ve had in this period of time? A lot, so yes, it’s about damn time that he’s gotten off his lazy arse and gotten his shit together.” Instead of exhibiting offence, Hanji cackled at their friend’s words, too used to his way of speaking.

                “Leave him alone, or at least wait to take it up with him – it has nothing to do with me. Buuuut, in the meantime, do you want to go out somewhere and celebrate?”

                “Get. Out.” He swiftly stood and grabbed the brunette’s arm, dragging them out of his room; he didn’t know how many times he’d told his fellow actor to not enter his room (or apartment in general), but he definitely drew the line at going out to celebrate – if he agreed once than there was no way that he would ever be able to keep them at bay.

                “But Levi, Moblit told me about this new club that I know you would really like –” He slammed his front door in their face, rolling his eyes at the ‘you know I always get my way in the end’ shouted back through the wood. Levi brought his hand up to massage the bridge of his nose, glad to finally be rid of his friend (though he only acknowledges that reluctantly).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The loud bass reverberated through his being, thrumming incessantly to the point where it felt like the beat and his heart where moving at the same speed. A migraine-like headache was creeping at the edge of his mind, and it didn’t matter how often he massaged his temples and nose bridge, it wouldn’t be alleviated. Beside him, Hanji threw back some weird blue-coloured drink with a happy cry.

                “WOOOO! Aren’t you having so much fuuuuuun?” They leant closer to him, but lost their balance, landing heavily against his shoulder.

                “Why are you still frowning, Mr Grumpy umpy pants?” They poked the wrinkled skin on his forehead, causing him to cringe in distaste. Levi would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy partying, but only at places that he wanted to go – the ones that were more reserved and less ‘duf duf duf’. Instead, he found himself sitting in some club that seemed to have a primary clientele of children between 21 and 25. With a sigh, he took another sip of the scotch he had been nursing for the last hour. How had Hanji convinced him to come… again?

                Across the bar, Levi saw a pretty young blonde girl twirling a straw in her mouth. He felt a smirk lift the corners of his lips; he couldn’t fully make out what she looked like because her body was turned away, but she was tiny and thin – exactly his type. He mumbled something to Hanji, not worried if they could even comprehend what he said, and he saw that he needn’t worry about them when they stumbled over to the dance floor.

                Levi casually leant against the counter, close enough that he was in the girl’s personal space, but not too close that he was being creepy. She continued to sip her drink, and now that he was standing beside her, he could see how much shorter she was, something that appealed greatly to his alpha sensibilities.

                “Hey, what’s a pretty young thing like you doing standing by yourself?” He cringed internally – he wasn’t on his game tonight if he started with such a clichéd line. Luckily, despite the meaning of his words, his suave and confident voice was enough to render any omega wet (though he would never voice such a crude sentiment out loud – he was a gentleman). Instead of the usual gushing and blushing he was used to, he heard a light, tinkling laugh.

                “Levi? Levi Ackerman? Are you seriously trying to pick me up?” The blonde turned fully to face him, and he could finally see just who he was trying to pick up despite the lighting of the club. He felt himself pale slightly as he saw his fellow actress, Historia Reiss; and never too far from Historia was…

                “What the fuck do you think you’re doing with my Christa?!” The aggressive alpha roughly pulled the petite blond to her side, a tanned arm wrapped around her protectively. Her glare was fierce, and had constantly cowed lesser men than Levi. Luckily, he was the king of glares, and only returned the brunettes look with equal force. Recognition only increased her glare.

                “What do you think you’re doing, Ackerman, ehhh?” Her stance became overly aggressive, and even though Levi had no desire to pursue any kind of sexual relationship with Historia (not ever since learning what Ymir did to men who hit on her very unavailable girlfriend), but his alpha instincts were flaring wildly at the obvious challenge.

                “We were just talking; I think you better back down you shitty excuse of an alpha.” Ymir leant closer into his space, her face getting dangerously close; he was tempted to just grab her and throw her into the bar.

                “Just talking? Christa, baby, was he just talking?” Her tone turned infinitely sweeter as she turned to her girlfriend. He never did understand the nickname she had given the famous actress, but he supposed ‘Christa’ held some kind of significance to the two of them. Historia sent him a mischievous smile, and he knew he was screwed (and not in the good way).

                “I was just standing innocently waiting for you, but then he just came up to me and said he wanted to have sex.” Both alpha’s eyes widened – Ymir’s in rage and Levi’s in surprise. _That little bitch_! Ymir seemed stricken silent with her anger, and Levi took that opportunity to escape; he wasn’t scared of the female alpha whatsoever (living with his scary sister for so long tended to desensitise him to these things) but he didn’t want to have to take part in a bar fight.

                Sliding back into his bar, he wished it was in his character to slump forward over the table, but instead he dropped his head into his hands, wishing that he had never agreed to come with Hanji. A glass dropped in front of him, and he didn’t even need to look to see that his friend had returned from their session of dancing.

                “Did you have to pick somewhere so loud?” He clearly heard Hanji’s laughing over the music.

                “Saw you having a little problem with Ymir; you should probably be cautious – I heard that once she waited in the parking lot for someone who’d hit on Tori and stabbed them!” He believed everything she said.

                A few hours later found Levi leaning heavily against Hanji, his vision blurring in and out of focus. Historia must have explained that Levi wasn’t the bad guy she’d made him out to be as she and her girlfriend were now sitting at their booth, though Ymir made sure to glare at him if he even slightly glanced Historia’s way.

                “Ya know, Leeeeviiiiiii, you’re so… Ya soooo right ‘bout Erwin; his eyebrows prob…ably control his thoughts. HE’S PROBABLY A ROBOT!” He had no idea what they were going on about, but they were making jokes at Erwin’s expense so he still laughed, and once he started he couldn’t stop, Historia and Hanji joining in enthusiastically.

                “W-we should... haha... we should call ‘im and ask.” Hanji lit up at the suggestion.

                “YESSSS!!” They had already fished out their phone before anyone could voice any objections, but there wasn’t anyone sober enough to disagree – not that they would. The ring tone sounded three times before Erwin’s tinny tone sounded over the line.

                “Hello? Hanji? Do you know what time it is?” None of them did; Hanji giggled as they all leant closer to hear over the club’s music.

                “Erwin? Erwin! How are ya?”

                “Hanji, where are you? Are you at a club?” Levi’s pale hand reached out and plucked the electronic device from his crazy friend.

                “Oi, oi, Erwin! Erwin! Are… are you a robot? Hanji thanks you might be a robot.”

                “NO! Don’t tell ‘im that! Robowin, I don’t think thaaat, Mr Grump is lyin’ to you.” Historia cracked up, her head hitting her girlfriend’s shoulder as her laughter came out, impossible to withhold.

                “……. What? Levi, is that you as well? I think the two of you should think about going home soon. Do you need me to come and pick you up?”

                “No, but you do need to shaave your fucking eyebrows; you’re face is 9-99% eyebrows, like shit.”

                “Good night Levi.” Before they could say anything further, Erwin had already hung up his phone, much to the enjoyment of the people at the table.

                “Leeevi, why did ya scare ‘im away? Erwin, are you still there?” Hanji yelled into the phone, her cries drawing the attention of some people around them, but Levi found he was at a stage where he didn’t care about the attention.

                “Oi, I gotta take a piss,” he said, not waiting for a response before moving away from the both, pushing through the throngs of people dancing out on the floor. As he moved through, he was almost tempted to forget his bathroom needs and just stay on the dance floor, letting the rhythm flow through him. He was able to ignore the lure of the dance floor and entered the bathroom.

                After, he stood at the sink washing his hands; standing next to him at another sink was a beautiful boy, his big, brown eyes catching the light perfectly. Levi found himself looking twice at the shorter male, his feminine, delicate features saying clearly that he was an omega. The boy noticed the looks he was getting in the mirror, and turned to face the older man. His eyes widened significantly when he recognised the actor, and a huge blush spread across his face, a small smile lighting his face.

                The boy bit his bottom lip between white teeth and subtly arched his back, leaning a little further than necessary over the sink, making his arse seem more prominent. Levi’s eyes roamed over the form deliberately presenting itself. _All omegas are such fucking sluts._ Without saying a word, he took a step closer, his hand casually drifting along the small back. The boy shivered at the touch and licked his lips, revelling as silvery eyes traced the movement. The actor couldn’t believe how easily he was picking up this boy – he hadn’t even said anything yet.

                He took another step so that he was right next to the young omega, his hand trailing down to grab a handful of tight butt, squeezing to the pleasure of his anonymous hook up.

                “Perhaps we should get out of here,” he whispered hotly, loving the response he got as the boy nodded eagerly.

                “M-my place or yours,” the boy moaned, pushing back insistently at the pale hand. The actor barely stopped an eye roll – as if he would risk the media blowing up talking about him bringing a barely legal kid home from a club.

                “Your place would be easier.” He pretended to ignore the flash of disappointment; _well, too fucking bad_. The rest of the night was a blur (he’d concluded that he’d definitely had too much to drink) as they made it to a dingy little apartment on the south side of town and got lost in passion.

                The next morning came much too quickly if his pounding headache was anything to go by, the small amount of sunlight filtering through the curtains burning his closed eyelids. An arm shifted against his waist, making him painfully aware of the heat beside him. He cringed and gently rolled out of the unwanted embrace, throwing a quick look over his shoulder at the light groan caused by the movement. The young man was still sleeping peacefully in the sheets so Levi figured that this was the perfect time to leave; but not without taking a shower. He was horrified to realise that he had been too drunk the previous night to force the two of them to clean up afterwards, leaving a dubious mess on his skin.

                His horrified expression didn’t leave the further he walked into the apartment, his skin crawling at the unwashed dishes in the sink, dust on the shelves, overflowing bin and dirty tiles. He wasn’t almost convinced that it would be more hygienic to wait until he was home to shower, but there was no way he could go out into society as indecent as he was right now.

                Making quick work in the bathroom, he raced out of the building, making note to never return. His sunglasses provided adequate protection against prying eyes for now, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before he was recognised, so he needed to get home fast.

                “Shitty glasses, where are you right now?”

                “Le…vi?” He heard the scratchy tone over the phone that he had used to call the person who, he believed, indirectly landed him in this situation. He didn’t reply, knowing he had just woken them up, and so gave them a few seconds to wrap their head around his question.

                “I’m at home. Where did you go last night? Wait, no, don’t bother, I’m sure I can guess; what do you need short-stack?” He growled at the nickname, but let it pass for now.

                “I need you to come pick me up. I’m at the corner of Clayton Street and Douglas Avenue. Be here soon.” He didn’t wait for them to respond, just hanging up straight away – if he didn’t give them time to protest than they would definitely turn up.

                About ten irritating minutes later, a sleek black Mercedes pulled up to the curb and he got in, ignoring the annoyance rolling off his friend in waves. The car merged back into traffic, and it wasn’t until they had made it back onto the highway that Hanji decided to break the silence.

                “What the hell? Why couldn’t you call a taxi? Or someone else? Do you know how badly my head is hurting right now?”

                “Urgh, shut up,” he groaned, leaning back into the comfortable seat, not in the mood for conversation.

                “Shut up? It’s 8 in the morning and I’ve been nice enough to come pick up your sorry arse from one of your disgusting hook ups, and the best you can give me is ‘shut up’? I seriously wonder what’s wrong with you sometimes.” Obviously Hanji had also woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

                “Look, you didn’t see the state of this guy’s place – trust me, ‘disgusting’ is definitely right.” Hanji looked at him with something akin to sympathy; Levi’s desire for cleanliness was well known, but the tabloids didn’t know just how much he craved for things to be clean. They sighed deeply before backing down from the fight.

                “Fine, I get it, but you could have still been a bit nicer,” they grumbled half-heartedly. They pulled up to an expensive block of apartments, entering the expansive parking lot that was mostly empty.

                “Thanks,” he mumbled quietly, half hoping that they didn’t hear him, but obviously they did when they smirked.

                “What was that? What did you say?”

                “Nothing…” Their smile only grew.

                “Ohhh? I’m sure I heard you say something though; did the almighty Levi actually say ‘thanks’?” He slammed his door with a dead pan expression without another word, dimly hearing Hanji’s inane cackling as he walked away. He knew that they wouldn’t take any offence as he flipped them the finger before entering the elevator to the penthouse suite. The bing of his phone alerted him to a message.

**From: Shitty Glasses**

_Luv u 2 xx_

                He slipped the phone back in his pocket, deciding that ignoring it would probably be best for everyone. With a weary slump to his shoulders, wishing that he’d had a lot more time to sleep off the effects of the previous night, he opened his front door, hoping to just collapse on the cloud he calls a bed.

                “Finally home I see.” He groaned – he couldn’t catch a damn break! Sitting casually on his lounge as though she belonged was his manager, two steaming cups sitting on a coasters on the coffee table; she must not have been here for too long if they were still hot.

                “Another late night? Levi, I’ve told you so many times that you need to stop with this sleeping around – not only is it possibly bad for your health, but worse, it’s giving you a really bad reputation. You know what the media calls you right? The alpha allurer – and that’s the nice nickname, mister manwhore.” He gave her a very unimpressed look.

                “Do they think they’re clever using alliteration? I don’t give a shit what anyone says, I’ll do whatever the hell I like, and I’d like to see anyone try and stop me.” He sat gracefully on his chair, reaching across and grabbing one of the cups, trusting Petra to have not touched them until he had chosen the one that he wanted.

                “Seriously? You don’t need that tough guy alpha attitude with me; I’m just trying to look out for you as a friend. What you’re doing is self-destructive; I know what happened was horrible, but you can’t let it consume you like this.” She was pleading him with big eyes, and even his emotionless façade wasn’t enough to deter her. He let out another groan.

                “What are you doing here, Petra?” She realised that she wasn’t going to get anything out of him today.

                “I have some contracts I need you to sign, and Erwin wants to set up a time to meet – I told him your schedule would be clear next Tuesday if you don’t have any new commitments you haven’t told me about yet? So, I can organise it for around 3pm, since I know how much you like to sleep in. Also, your sister phoned; apparently you haven’t contacted her in a while and she was getting worried.” He couldn’t refrain from snorting at that – the day Mikasa actively showed worry concerning his well-being was the day hell froze over. He made a note to phone her later; she must have something she wants to discuss with him.

                “Lastly, Rico wants to know if you would be interested in taking part of her new commercial selling her new line of men’s body wash. If you’re interested, she wants to meet as soon as possible.” He always enjoyed doing the Brzenka line commercials – she was a very no-nonsense woman, and that appealed to his sensibilities that he wouldn’t have to sit through hours of shit just for a half hour of photo shoots like most other people he worked with.

                “Sure, tell Rico I can speak with her Thursday around midday; I’ll meet her at her office. Leave the contracts here, I’ll get around to it at some point today and give them back to you tomorrow. Also, tell Erwin he can shove it; is the meeting important?”

                “Yes.”

                “Fine, whatever, set it up then, and tell him that he better hurry up with the first script reading – I didn’t wait weeks for him to find a damn actor just to wait another couple of weeks to get started.

                “I heard it would be about 3 weeks because he needs to finish finalising all the legal aspects, and meet with the director. What do you want me to tell Mikasa?”

                “Don’t worry about Mika; I’ll deal with her myself. Who’s meant to be directing this thing – I figured Mike was writing and directing?”

                “No, he’s just writing this time; I heard that Erwin wanted Shadis, but I can’t say for certain whether that rumour’s true or not.” His nose wrinkled in derision at the name; Shadis was a very good director, but his methods were very… militaristic, which generally didn’t leave any room for complaints or artistic discussion.

                He gave a non-committed noise, returning to his coffee and picking up the first document that Petra had slid closer; he hated paperwork with a passion, but he knew it was necessary. Meanwhile, Petra had stood up and started to tidy up some things that had become a bit messy since he was last home yesterday – that’s one of the reasons why he put up with Petra and liked her most out of his friends: she was most accepting of his obsessive need for things to be perfect, and took the initiative to clean up for him where others would complain that there was no point because they couldn’t actually see any mess. It didn’t matter how often he said ‘you don’t need to see it, because I can’.

                The morning passed quickly as he went through his work and Petra moved from straightening up to vacuuming and dusting, and by the time lunch rolled around they were both ready for food.

                “Oi, Petra, shouldn’t have you gone back into the office today?” She looked up briefly from the kitchen where she had begun to make food before returning her attention back to the ingredients.

                “No, I have Gunther covering my phone calls, but I’ll have to return after lunch to meet with a few clients. Do you want onions today?” He had an off again on again relationship with onions that some found strange.

                “No, not today,” he said, still focussed on his documents, his eyes starting to itch with irritation. A hand was thrust into his vision clutching his reading glasses, and he gave the red head a small smile – she was one of the only people he freely smiled for – and marvelled once more at how she always seemed to know what he needed.

                “Why couldn’t you be single?” She rolled her eyes, but she heard the slight teasing lilt to his tone.

                “As if you’d want me if I was single; you’re full of shit Levi Ackerman.” He let a quick laugh slip out.

                “Does your husband know that you have such a dirty mouth?” She gave a mischievous smirk.

                “I’d say he definitely knows just how… dirty it is,” she replied, biting her lip in an act of mock seduction before starting laugh, her soft peals making him roll his eyes once more.

                “Be careful what you say Petra, you might tempt me, and trust me, I _always_ get what I want.” Quicker than a flash, he was leaning over the smaller beta, pushing her against the couch with a predatory look. All she did was meet his gaze with an unimpressed one. After a beat where she refused to indulge his teasing, Levi sat back up, giving her room to move away.

                “Really, Levi; I know you’re just joking, but if Oluo sees anything like that, you know that he’ll burn with jealousy – he already idolises and copies you as it is because he thinks I’m attracted to you.”

                “Aren’t you?” She pushed away from him to return to the kitchen.

                “No, and I know you aren’t attracted to me.” He sighed.

                “Ah, things would be so much easier if I did – why are you a beta?” He pretended to be sad at the conversation, but really, there was no way he would change his life; being single and unattached to anyone was the best feeling

                “Shut up you; now, I’ve finished the food, so let’s eat, and I don’t want to hear anymore out of you.” Lunch passed smoothly, and soon it was just Levi, alone in his large apartment, not quite sure what to do with the rest of his day off. Figuring now was as good a time as any, he picked up his landline and dialled a number that he usually only did under duress.

                “Hello?” The curt response was expected.

                “Mikasa, Petra told me you called her; what do you want?” The two had a very strange relationship – to most it seemed as though they were extremely distant, possibly even at the point of hate, but they just didn’t understand the complex dynamics at play. Growing up they had always butted heads on everything – if Levi wanted to play with his soldiers, than Mikasa had to as well, but they could never play together. If they wanted to play cops and robbers, they both always wanted to be the cop instead of the robber because both refused to be the submissive role.

When they both presented as alphas, these moments made a lot more sense, but it also increased their levels of aggression to the point where Levi had to move out of home at the age of 16 because their competitive displays of dominance had gotten to be too much to handle, putting unnecessary strain on their family. It definitely didn’t help that they lived with their uncle Kenny, who was also an alpha. Three alphas under one roof was almost impossible, and it wasn’t long after Levi left that Mikasa also left.

“I just heard that you decided to work with Erwin for his new movie; are you sure you want to do that?” He could clearly hear the worry masked in her tone, and he was surprised – turns out she really was worried this time.

                “Listen, I can handle myself; if I didn’t want to, then I would have said no. I’ve been thinking that maybe it was about time to bury the hatchet with Erwin anyway; it wasn’t completely his fault.”

                “As long as you’re sure… He phoned me to be part of the project as well, and I accepted.” Levi felt himself starting to get angry – Erwin had phoned his sister as well? Was he so afraid that Levi might flip out and attack him that he had to bring in Mikasa to act as a way to calm him down? Probably a valid concern, but it still rankled him.

                “You’re a grown woman; you can do whatever you want. Is that all you wanted?”

                “Levi,” she started with a warning tone. “I think you need to talk about this with someone – why haven’t you spoken with Hanji or Petra?”

                “Mind your own damn business; I’m dealing with it, so just stop talking about it.” He heard her static-y sigh across the line.

                “Fine, don’t talk about it with anyone; do the healthy thing and pretend it doesn’t hurt you. But let me tell you that you can’t keep degrading and debasing omegas like this; something’s going to have to change.”

                “Ah huh, look, I’m busy so I’m going to hang up now, but next time I see you I don’t want you to talk about this again – me sleeping with omegas has nothing to do with this situation.”

                “Okay, but just know that I’ll –” He hung up; he knew that she would bitch nonstop about that when he saw her next, but he just didn’t have the patience for that line of conversation anymore. Though, her worry _was_ slightly touching.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                He was officially late to the script reading; traffic was a huge bitch, but luckily he had a personalised parking spot so he didn’t need to worry about driving around for hours to find one at this time of day. Swiftly entering into the lobby, he gave a nod to Nanaba and entered the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator was already occupied, and he gave an internal sigh.

                “Mikasa.”

                “Levi.” She eyed him briefly before looking forward again. A companionable silence descended between them as the elevator rose upwards, no words necessary.

                “You hung up when I was still speaking.” He ignored her, which only served to agitate her. Mikasa frowned at him again.

                “Fine, ignore me, I don’t care.” He knew she did care, but he didn’t feel the need to indulge her.

                The elevator doors slid open smoothly, and they both left, Mikasa a step behind her brother – something that annoyed her more than anything. Her quickening of steps was subtle, but the minute she stood directly beside him, he realised what she was trying to do, and so quickened his own pace. Mikasa frowned, matching her brother’s speed. It wasn’t long until they were quick walking down the hallway, Levi maintaining his small lead until the end. He allowed a smile to briefly lift the corners of his lips at his victory before opening the door to the meeting room. He vaguely heard Mikasa grumbling behind him.

                No one noticed the Ackerman siblings as they slipped into the room, everyone else was either loitering nervously by themselves, but there was a small group standing together, and Levi wasn’t surprised to note that Hanji was at the centre of it. Standing beside Hanji was an extremely tall brunette male who appeared to be trying as hard as he could to make himself seem smaller – how pathetic. There were also two blondes, one noticeably more muscular than the other and holding himself with an air of arrogance and dominance; if he wasn’t an alpha than Levi would force Hanji to eat a hat.

                After appraising the others surrounding his lunatic of a co-worker, his eyes landed on the smaller male who had one of Hanji’s arms draped casually across his shoulders. He couldn’t see him properly because he was mostly shielded by Hanji, but there was something that just drew his attention to the male. Suddenly, a pair of the most exquisitely large eyes connected with his – from this distance he couldn’t say what colour they were, but they were incredibly bright.

As his eyes skimmed over the form once more, he knew his eyes must be darkening slightly – the boy was small and slender, exactly his type; hopefully he was working on the movie in some capacity instead of being the relative of one of the actors, so that he would be able to talk to him. Though, ‘talking’ wasn’t really what he was known for, and as he maintained his steady gaze, he figured that he could definitely do more than ‘talking’ with this male.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Levi and Eren get to finally meet next chapter. I've already started writing it, so hopefully it'll be out sooner than a month haha


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An early update ^_^ Enjoy as Levi and Eren have their first meeting

Eren’s eyes widened, the red blush spreading across his features. There was absolutely no way that his favourite actor was here; that he would do a movie acting alongside this studio legend. And that same studio legend was currently staring at him with an indescribable look. What did he do? Should he go over and say something; introduce himself? It was only logical since they would work together, but he suddenly found his courage leaving him.

“What’s wrong Eren?” Armin’s voice managed to pull his concentration from the stoic raven haired man across the room.

“W-what? Nothing’s wrong. Anyway, when are we getting started?” The blonde appeared sceptical, but let it slide.

“You’ll probably start soon, so I should get going; Erwin told me on the phone that he had some papers for me to go through. You’ll be fine, right?” Eren rolled his eyes – he hated how over protective the alpha was, but he supposed that it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to overcome instinct. With hesitance, Armin retreated, heading to one of the other offices on the floor that contained the contracts and paperwork he needed to go through – apparently being a manager took a lot more effort than he thought.

“Where’s Armin going?” He looked beside him to Hanji who was watching after the leaving blonde.

“Uhh, manager stuff or something.” They nodded in understanding before looking around the room again. Suddenly, their eyes landed on the raven siblings across the room (he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed Mikasa Ackerman standing next to her brother) and shrieked with an inhumanly high noise. 

“LEVI!! My short pipsqueak, you’re late!” They launched themselves across the room, flinging their arms around the resisting male and hanging off his neck. Everyone in the room had looked over at the cry, a few nervous chuckles trying to break free before being muffled by the killer glare Levi shot them. He felt his heart pick up at the expression, and he had no idea why – something like that wouldn’t scare him normally, but obviously it was otherwise his body wouldn’t be reacting like this. Luckily, it was at this point that Erwin entered the room, a stack of papers held precariously in his hands.

“Okay everyone, let’s get started.” He dropped the stack on the table with a resounding ‘thud’, watching as everyone moved to take a seat. Somehow, Eren found himself seated between Reiner and, surprisingly, Levi. His heart thudded almost painfully in his chest as he gazed at the table, hoping it wasn’t as audible to others as it was to him. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the black haired actor leant back in his chair casually, the way he moved subtly highlighting the muscles of his chest. Eren’s face only reddened further, feeling horrible for his perverse staring, even though he didn’t mean it.

“Hi, I’m Levi.” His gaze froze on the wood for a second before he swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth. Eren turned his head to see his idol looking right back at him, his face not giving away his expression, but his eyes remained intense. It took Eren a moment to reply.

“E-eren.” He cringed internally, hating how weak he sounded right now – this wasn’t the way that he had ever thought he would act if he were to meet the great Levi Ackerman. He was getting so flustered that he even imagined that he saw Levi’s mouth lift into a smile for a millisecond.

“So, E-eren, is this your first movie?” He nodded, starting to feel more confident in himself despite the teasing – actually, because of the teasing, because it convinced him that under the exterior of famous actor, the raven head was just a regular person.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it; I’ve always wanted to go into the film industry, but I didn’t expect to be asked to be the lead! Can you believe it?” Excitement shone vibrantly in his eyes, and he forgot for a second who he was talking to, his desire to express his disbelief at his own luck outweighing his nerves. Through his own emotions he saw the surprise flit across Levi’s face.

“You’re the lead? Ha! Who’d you have to sleep with to make that happen?” Suddenly, all his nerves disappeared, and his heart returned mostly to its regular speed as he frowned. Who the fuck does he think he is?

“Excuse me?” The indignation was clear in his tone, and he watched in satisfaction as the other’s eyes widened marginally. He probably wasn’t used to people speaking back against him.

“I figured since this is your first movie, and a lead to boot… Trust me, getting a foot in this business isn’t easy.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it just wasn’t easy for you,” he answered with sass, ignorant of the growing impatience of the person beside him.

“Oh? Well, tell me how you got the role, then,” he said with a tone that oozed dominance, leaving no room for anything other than an answer. “Because I know plenty of actual actors that would have killed for the chance at a lead role.”

“I’m a real actor! For your information, Erwin saw a play I was in and sought me out,” he fumed, hating the smugly arrogant smirk directed at him.

“Right, so you haven’t slept with anyone yet, I get it now; we could fix that if you want.” Fire snapped in the depths of his eyes, fury rolling from his pores.

“Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you can talk like that just because you’re some big-shot actor? Yeah, well, you can go fuck yourself you pretentious douche.” The movement was too fast for him to comprehend, but the next moment he found his face pressed into the wood of the table, pain radiating through his cheek. The angry alpha leant down next to his ear.

“How dare you speak to me like that you shitty omega slut; all you’re good for is looking pretty and obeying an alpha.”

“Levi! Let go of him!” It happened almost instantly after Levi’s dominant scent exploded through the room: Reiner jumped to his feet, headless of the chair clattering to the ground noisily, while Erwin, who had been two chairs away from the ravenette lunged a hand out to grab his friend’s shoulder. Alpha pheromones flared crazily around the room, pressing heavily against the non-alphas present, creating a suffocating atmosphere. He flexed the muscles of his arm for another second before relenting, his grip removing entirely from the soft, brown locks.

“Tch.”

“Come outside with me for a minute, please Levi.” Erwin’s tone said that he clearly was not asking. The two men stood chest-to-chest having a face off, neither backing down.

“I’m not a fucking omega; damn alphas doing whatever they want…” The boy murmured the last part, slowly getting to his feet and rubbing his cheek. His interjection drew the attention of the two warring alphas, Levi’s face looking shocked – the first obvious emotion Eren had seen since meeting him.

“What?” His confusion helped to radically disperse the tension invading the air. “You’re not an omega?”

“No, but what should it matter; do you treat all omegas like that?”

“Levi, outside.” Levi groaned exaggeratedly, walking out of the room without a second thought, the tall blonde following close behind. Eren scowled after them, but still plopped heavily back into his chair. Reiner placed a hand on his shoulder, concern evident in his features, and he vaguely noticed that someone had also taken the seat previously occupied by Levi.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry for my brother’s attitude.” He knew it wasn’t the time, but he couldn’t help but feel a little star struck again as he cast his eye over the stoic female now beside him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. But what was his problem – he doesn’t even know me, and he was willing to make whatever assumptions he wanted.” It was only when another hand landed heavily on his shoulder that he realised that he was shaking slightly; his eyes travelled from the hand up to Hanji, concern appearing so out of place on their usually happy face (even if that happiness was often misplaced).

“I know that the things he says can be painful, but he isn’t trying to hurt you,” Hanji started hesitantly, ignoring the scoffs and expressions of disbelief around the room, everyone hanging on the every word of the small group.

“Yeah, well I don’t give a fuck what his intentions are – you don’t treat someone like that! What the hell did Eren even do to him? Nothing, so he can just get off his fucking high horse and realise he isn’t better than everyone else.” There were a lot of nods of agreement at Reiner’s words while the blonde sported an aggressive and angry look. Mikasa frowned slightly, though it was hard to differentiate from her usual expression. Meanwhile, Hanji had burst to their feet, headless of the antagonistic stance of the large alpha.

“Look here, you huge lug! Leave him alone; you don’t know what happened so stop commenting. I’m not trying to defend him, I’m just saying that there’re two sides, and maybe it would be best not to just jump straight to attacking – I’ve known Levi a long time, and he’s a good person.” Reiner glared at the impassioned speech.

“Nothing gives him the right to hurt anyone; he’s a damn alpha, so he has a responsibility to those weaker than him to protect –”

“Stop it!” Eren rushed to his feet, breaking free of the concerned hands trying to comfort him. His brow furrowed deeply as he levelled a glare at those immediately surrounding him, warning them to stop fighting.

“I don’t need anyone to argue on my behalf, and frankly, this is stupid! I’m not some weak person who needs protecting, or whatever other shit you were going to say,” he growled, eyes narrowing dangerously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Erwin had an iron grip on Levi’s upper arm, making sure that he didn’t try to make a run for it, or something of the like, much to the ravenette’s displeasure.

“Let go of me you shitty eyebrows.” Though, no matter how dominant and aggressive he tried to make his voice, Erwin never relented, dragging them down the hall into an empty office. The tall blonde practically threw him to the centre of the room and closed the door behind him with a loud ‘bang’.

“What do you think you were doing in there? Is it impossible for you to ever act professional?” He stalked closer, the words leaving in a hiss, though Levi only rolled his eyes, casually leaning against the lone desk in the office.

“Seriously, Erwin? Can we just skip to the end where you tell give me an empty warning to shape up, which I completely ignore, and then we go back and shit out an amazing movie?”

“That’s not going to cut it; not this time. I’ve put up with a lot from you over the years, but I had assumed that during this time that we haven’t worked together that you might have gotten yourself together a little. Did your promise mean nothing to you?” Faster than the blink of an eye, the shorter male shot across the distance, pinning the blonde forcefully against the wall with his forearm across his throat.

“How dare you… What gives you the right to bring that up to me, you piece of shit?! Look, I’m sorry for my actions – I shouldn’t have laid a hand on that kid. There, are you happy now?” Erwin batted the arm away, knowing that it would have been harder to do if the shorter male had been putting any kind of pressure behind it. His piercing blue eyes showed his lack of approval at the response.

“How can I be certain that you won’t do anything like that again? Not only is it highly unprofessional, it can lead to a lot of problematic legal issues – what if he was to file a complaint against you? Fine you for harassment? Something like that would impact negatively on this movie, on me, and on the company as a whole.” Levi spun away viciously, placing as much space between the two that he could before whirling around again, the again oozing from his pores, his usual control releasing from his scent, strong enough to make even Erwin flinch subtly.

“That’s all it ever is for you isn’t it? It’s always about business! Well, you know what? I don’t give a damn about that – I made a mistake, and I’m willing to move passed it if that kid is, but don’t shove down my throat the importance of ‘maintaining public image’.” The blonde sighed wearily, the sign of weakness helping to unconsciously calm the black haired male’s instincts down.

“This isn’t about me, and you know that; this isn’t about me, it’s about you and your dislike for omegas.” The deadpan expression he received only wrenched another sigh free.

“Fine, stay here and I’ll get Eren so you can apologise properly; lord knows we don’t need any more conflict in the script reading room – our actors are probably starting to second guess whether they even want to be part of this train wreck.”

He promptly left Levi alone, shutting the door behind him. As soon as it closed, he felt the strength leave his limbs, causing him to sink into the lone chair behind the desk, one hand massaging the bridge of his nose. This was a lot of hassle – more problems than he had needed. It took a further 15 minutes until the door slowly swung open again, and Levi could only assume that the blonde had wanted to speak with the brat before bringing him here. The two males entered the room, Erwin leaning down to whisper something in the brunette’s before giving a warning glare to Levi across the room and retreating out the door to give some semblance of privacy. He understood that it would damage the ravenette’s pride if he were to witness this apology.

He watched as the brunette shifted nervously under Levi’s scrutiny, but after a moment, or two, he seemed to gain the confidence to lift his head and level a glare at him. Levi lifted an eyebrow, feeling all anger or frustration that he had previously felt leaving him.

“I don’t want your apology.” It was surprising that the younger male was the first to break the silence, something that usually rubbed his alpha instincts the wrong way, but he found himself more impressed than aggravated.

“Oh, than why are you here?” He stayed sitting, his eyes tracking the brunette’s movements as he began to pace slowly.

“I wanted to talk to you without everyone listening; I need you to know that I’m not some push over – if you want to start something, then you need to be prepared for me to retaliate. If you insult me, then I’ll insult you; it’s as fair as that. I know that insults some kind of instinctual need to dominate or whatever it is that drives you alpha types, but I’m not like everyone else – I refuse to lie down and let society screw me over.” He slammed his hands down on the wooden desk, prompting both eyebrows of the man opposite him to rise, though he didn’t shy away when Eren leant forward.

“Everyone else might be stuck in this medieval mindset that determines how each gender acts, but I think that’s a load of bullshit, and I promise you that I’ll make sure the world sees my point of view, if it’s the last thing I do!” Determination snapped violently in his eyes, his mouth set in a thin line, and Levi found himself getting lost in the passion radiating from the boy.

“Oh hoh; not bad…” He murmured the words, but Eren was too lost in his own thoughts to hear him. Eren let out another huff before pushing away from the desk, walking a few steps away.

“If you don’t want me to apologise, I won’t; just know that I’ll try not to do it again – apparently for the sake of the movie. I can’t say I get why you care so much about this issue; what’s the point? But, I respect that it’s obviously something you feel strongly about, so we’ll just agree to disagree.” He couldn’t believe how easily he was letting go of this issue, but he figured if the brat didn’t push his thoughts onto him, than he could work with him. It also helped that he still found him physically attractive, a fact that caused endless confusion to his alpha side that he could desire anyone that wasn’t an omega. Eren beamed at him, pleased with the response he’d gotten. After the events that had happened earlier, he couldn’t help but think ‘I guess it’s true when they say don’t meet your heroes’, but he couldn’t be happier. In fact, his admiration had probably even increased.

“Cool! Maybe we should head back now?” Levi shook his head – why did the brat have to turn a simple statement into a question? – but stood gracefully anyway, indicating with a slight inclination of his head towards the door. Eren didn’t wait a second longer, instead bounding toward the door, almost colliding into a shamelessly eavesdropping Erwin. The blonde chuckled sheepishly at being caught, but Eren didn’t even look like he noticed.

The three walked back to their previous room in comfortable silence, surprisingly without any animosity between any of them – not even between Erwin and Levi despite their dispute. When they re-entered, the ravenette noticed immediately the glares and intense looks directed his way; already a crowd favourite, he could see. Everyone except Hanji, who frantically waved their hand at him, pointing at the empty chair beside them with a large, manic grin. He cringed internally – he’d known the other for a long time now, and so knew, for the most part, how to read their expressions, and that grin meant nothing but trouble for him.

Luckily, the rest of the session passed easily, though a little boring; Levi couldn’t wait until the pre-production phase ended and they could finally get into the good stuff with filming. At the end, Levi pushed himself wearily from up into a standing position, wanting to leave as quickly and quietly as he could before getting accosted by anyone.

He failed.

“Come on short stack, let’s hang out!” Hanji linked their arms and literally dragged him from the room, already mentally resigning himself to whatever came next. His eyes briefly connected with Mikasa’s, but she just turned her head enough to break eye contact – there was no help coming from that corner.

“There’s this new café that’s opened up near here and I heard their coffee is to die for.” He had to suffer the humiliation of having their arms linked for two blocks before arriving at the café – he was just glad that there was no chance it being photographed by the media as a result of their ingenious disguises. It always surprised him how some sunglasses, a hat, maybe a scarf, was enough to completely conceal their identities from the prying public. Hanji indicated for one coffee heaped with a thousand spoonfuls of sugar and one black tea, dragging them to a secluded table.

“So did Erwin get Shadis to direct?” He broke the silence in an attempt to distract from the eventual conversation, and it seemed that the other brunette was going to take the bait.

“Actually, I was talking to him yesterday and he said he changed his mind – he decided to direct the movie himself.” Levi leant forward slightly, intrigued despite himself – the blonde hadn’t actually directed a movie himself for almost two years because he had too much work as a high executive of the Survey Corps. He’d always still had a lot of say in the production stage, but most of his efforts went to the financial and legal side; which was a shame since he was an excellent director. Some even regarded him as the best director in the business at the moment.

“Really? That’s… probably for the best,” he said, more to himself than Hanji. If he was honest, he would admit to himself that he’d always worked best under Erwin’s direction.

“Yeah, I know! I asked him how that would work with all his other duties, but apparently he’s getting ore help from Mike, and he’s also hired Ilse Langnar as his assistant director. From what I’ve heard, Ilse is a machine, so she would most likely be a huge help.” They looked like they were about to launch into a long conversation, but paused, their eyes narrowing.

“Ahaha, you’re a crafty one Levi Ackerman, but you won’t distract me that easily. Now I want you to tell me what exactly happened back there.” It was inevitable that they would eventually remember why they were here, but he’d hoped that it might take longer.

“I insulted him, he talked shit back, and then I hurt him; simple.” Eyes glinted in thought behind glasses, scrutinising him deeply.

“That’s pretty… extreme. So what, you insulted him because…?” He huffed a sigh and crossed his arms petulantly.

“I don’t know; I thought he was an omega…”

“Levi!” They leant across the table and slapped the back of his head.

“What –”

“I don’t believe you – I’ve never seen you going from meeting a pretty omega to insulting them before, so even if he had been one, I figure it would be much more likely that you’d try to sleep with him. Is it because your brain said ‘omega’ but your instincts said ‘beta’ and you were confused about how to act?” A dangerous glint sparked deep in their brown eyes, the prospect of a new chance to experiment about gender instincts dangling in front of their gaze like meat in front of a hungry dog. However, now that the question was posed, he found himself thinking about it; he truly had no idea why he’d immediately jumped into attack mode – something he usually only did when challenged by another alpha.

“I don’t have an answer for you shitty glasses. Can we just talk about something else?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Eren shifted uncomfortably under the intense blue gaze, avoiding eye contact for as long as he could. It was a futile effort though because the blonde already knew what had happened thanks to his traitorous new friend, Mikasa – he still couldn’t believe that had happened. After the script reading, the stoic actress had approached him to confirm that he would be okay, and one thing led to another and the two had formed a fast friendship fairly quickly. He’d been extremely happy as they exchanged numbers, but that happiness decreased when she had met Armin and told him what had happened.

The blonde hadn’t initially brought up the event, instead talking casually and commenting on the people that had been present; he also marvelled at his new friendship with Mikasa, though he put a strange emphasis on ‘friendship’ while making a strange face. The boy had been almost convinced that it wouldn’t be brought up, but then they had reached Armin’s house, and were now currently sitting at the kitchen counter across from each other.

A few birds chirped merrily outside, but the atmosphere was still inside the house; it was unbearable for the usually energetic brunette, especially since he was forced to remain seated.

“… It wasn’t that bad, Armin, and we talked about it afterwards; I actually think he could be a nice guy. Mikasa said the same thing, and she would know her own brother better than anyone, right?”

“Why didn’t you call for me?” Eren frowned.

“Why would I do that? I had everything under control; and it wasn’t like there weren’t enough people around.” He could sense an incoming argument, which he always tried to avoid with his friend, but it looked like it was going to be unavoidable.

“You could have been hurt! I was only a few rooms away; why do you never let me help you…? I’m not useless…” Turquoise eyes crinkled in sadness as his friend’s insecurities started to surface – it had been a large issue of contention when they were younger, and even as they grew older and Armin’s instincts dictated him to protect anyone smaller than him, Eren had relentlessly held on to his independence.

“Armin… I don’t need anyone to protect me… But if I did, I would come to you first every time.” Armin had broken eye contact, but at Eren’s words, he looked upwards again, happiness shining in his blue orbs. They would never talk about it, but he knew that Armin sometimes felt like a failure of an alpha – he’d never grown as tall or muscular as a traditional alpha; still taller than most non-alphas, but slim and short enough to feel inadequate. Though, he could definitely run rings around anyone when it comes to battles of intellect.

“Thanks Eren… But, I’m still going to kill Levi the first chance I get,” he growled that last part, but let all seriousness wash away into a large, angelic smile, his laughter starting to bubble up his chest. The reaction confused him at first, but soon Eren started to laugh alongside him – everything that had happened since meeting Erwin just seemed so ridiculous. How had they even gotten to this place? A place where his friend could threaten to kill one of the stars of Hollywood and actually mean it?

“Hahaha, damnit Armin, I’d love to see that. Do you want me to make dinner or something?”

“YES! Make pasta; I love when you cook, it’s always so good.” The brunette launched himself from his chair, immediately starting to pull out pots that he would need, having been to Armin’s house enough times to know where everything lived. The two settled into comfortable banter while the shorter boy cooked, and almost an hour later he was plating up the food, giving generous helping sizes.

“Eren must be here,” they heard from the front foyer, Armin’s grandfather slowly walking into view with a large smile. “This house only ever smells this good when he’s here cooking for us.” Eren laughed and retrieved a third plate for the jovial elder; Mr Arlert was like a father to him, and he loved how warm and welcoming it always was to him.

It wasn’t until much later, as the sun dipped below the horizon and stars lit the black canvas with pale light that Eren decided it was about time to head home. 

“I’ll just go grab my keys and then we can get going,” the blonde uttered as he went to search for his keyring while Eren bid Mr Arlert a good night.

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's a bout one more chapter of introduction stuff before some things start to happen :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter ^_^ thanks everyone who's commented and left a kudo. Also, I forgot to say last chapter, but over 1000 hits! That's great!

                Eren sighed and let his head drop to the desk with an imperceptible ‘thud’, a small groan threatening to break free. To his right, he could see Armin studiously writing everything that appeared on the white board, listening intently. He’d always had a hard time paying attention in class, but ever since this whole acting business had started, it was nearly impossible for him to keep his focus on school. What was the point of learning what the symbolism of a poem was, or how to differentiate an equation? It was something that he literally would never use again once he graduated.

                Outside the window the blue sky and slight breeze beckoned him, enticing him with the chance of freedom from this horrible institute of learning. It was tempting to just jump through the window and run around the extensive, green fields that were currently occupied by another class playing soccer. He wished that he could join them; kick around the black and white ball and just enjoy his time at school rather than sit here, in this stifling room on the precipice between awake and sleeping.

                “Mr. Jaeger, if you would kindly draw your attention to the white board and copy down what’s written; you have a test on Thursday, and I can honestly say that this information would be incredibly beneficial. Especially for you.” His brow frowned in offence – yes, his marks weren’t the best, but what would he even need them for? He was going to be an actor!

                “Yes, sir,” he grumbled, making a show of picking up his pen and opening his notebook, obviously appeasing his teacher. He also made a show of ignoring his friend’s pointed look; he didn’t need Armin making him feel inadequate or like a disappointment.

                By lunch time, he was more than ready to just head home and sleep for a week until the next script reading; the last few periods had been more than unproductive, and he couldn’t imagine continuing this routine for the next months until graduation.

                “Eren, I think you need to try harder in class; I know you don’t care, but until we finish, you have an obligation to this establishment to try your hardest.” Eren let his head flop backwards, counting the tiles on the roof of the cafeteria, a deep sigh leaving his throat.

                “I know…” Armin continued to say something, but Eren was no longer listening, his eyes lazily swivelling around the large room to watch the people around him – the large swarms of adolescent children, the majority of whose only problems day to day were whether they should do their homework, or what people were saying about them behind their back. _I hate school_. He sighed again, though didn’t draw the attention of the blonde, who continued to lecture without breaking stride.

                “D-d you mind if I sit with, Eren?” The tentative black haired freshman (he was fairly certain her name was Mina, or something) shifted from foot to foot in front of him, her eyes looking everywhere but at the two males eating lunch; Eren paused with his fork halfway to his mouth while Armin frowned at being interrupted. It wasn’t uncommon for people to approach him and ask to ‘hang out’ at various points in the school day, but it was usually hopeful alphas or ambitious betas who thought they might have a shot with him – never had a shy, nervous beta freshman approached him before, looking like she might cry if she was rejected, so he wasn’t one hundred percent certain about what to do.

                “Um, yeah, sure, I guess that would be fine,” he hedged hesitantly, looking at Armin out of his peripheries to see the subtle nod in agreement. He wasn’t sure what it was that made him so popular – he was alright at sports, and he was amazing when it came to the stage, but movies always lead him to believe that theatre brats were among the unpopular people in the student body. The girl beamed happily and smoothly slid into the chair across from him, next to Armin. Both were uncertain as to how to proceed, before Armin coughed in an effort to clear his throat.

                “A-anyway, what I was saying was that –” Once more, the blond found himself being cut off by a small, cute clearing of the throat, drawing his blue eyes to the black haired girl.

                “I’m sorry; do either of you know where I can get some chocolate milk?” Both boys looked confused at the question, taking in the girl’s sweet smile.

                “Ah, over by the food?” Mina turned her head to face Armin as soon as the words left his mouth, her smile growing a little.

                “Great, can you please go get me one?” Blue eyes locked with greeny-blue, both not sure what to do, but Armin eventually caved with a small smile, that didn’t reach his eyes, to appease the girl still looking at him expectantly. For someone who presented themselves so nervously, she definitely knew how to make demands. The blonde swiftly rose to his feet and moved to find the chocolate milk, confusion still swirling in blue depths. As soon as the alpha was out of sight, the girl turned towards him hurriedly, a strange gleam in her eyes.

                “Eren, but I need to ask you a question.” Her tone sounded slightly desperate and pleading, her eyes imploring him to answer any question she had.

                “I’m sorry, but have we ever met before,” he asked, not sure if he should feel bad for not remembering talking to the freshman or not.

                “Right; no, we haven’t – but I’ve definitely seen you and Armin from afar.” _Was something like that creepy?_ He wasn’t sure, but she was cute, and didn’t seem like the stalker type, so he’d give her the benefit of the doubt for now.

                “O…kay? What did you need from me?”

                “Is Armin single?” His eyebrows rose in confusion – what would it matter if the blonde alpha was seeing anyone or not? How was that important to this girl? His confusion must have been obvious because she started to laugh, the light tinkling sound making him focus on her again.

                “Ah, no? Not that I know of…” Her smile increased, a hand coming up to pull at one of her black braids in a nervous fashion, twirling the ends of the hair around her pointer finger.

                “Great. Great… Is he interested in anyone?”

                “No,” he replied, comprehension starting to dawn across his face, a sly smirk slowly forming with an upturned lip. “So, you’re interested in him?” A pretty blush spread like wild fire across her face, a few sputtering noises spewing from her mouth but making no sense.’

                “Why didn’t you just ask him yourself? Wouldn’t that have been easier? That, way, when he said he was single you could have just asked him out straight away.”

                “What?!” The shriek forced from her lips drew the attention of a few students around them, but they quickly went back to their own conversations; she shrunk down a little in her seat to divert attention from her. “I can’t just do that! What if he said he was seeing someone, or that he liked someone? I’d feel so stupid. And, there’s also the rumour, so I figured it would be best to talk to you first.” Her brown eyes crinkled in nervousness, starting to nibble on one of the nails of her right hand. He cocked his head to the side in thought.

                “Armin isn’t a scary guy, so he wouldn’t say anything mean,” he said with a small laugh. “What rumour do you mean?” His eyes took in the slight hesitance in the girl’s expression and how she quickly looked over her shoulder to see where the blonde was – he had been stopped by one of his friends and was now engaged in conversation with them, giving Mina and Eren more time to talk.

                “I mean… You know… I’m sure you’ve heard it,” she mumbled, the red of her face increasing in intensity. “The rumour about you and Armin.”

                “What about us?” She groaned, almost wishing that she _had_ decided to just talk with the blonde rather than jumping through hoops with his best friend. Obviously, if she wanted to get anywhere, she needed to just be blunt.

                “About how you two are dating.” She shouldn’t have been surprised at the short bark of laughter she received from the brunette, but found herself leaning back anyway.

                “Dating? That’s stupid! Look, Armin’s like a brother to me, there’s absolutely nothing between us – you should talk to him, I’m sure you’ll be happy with the result. Armin’s always liked pretty people,” he laughed, mirth and slight ridicule clear in his voice. Luckily, Mina didn’t take any offence to his tone, and instead returned back to her previous happy expression, her hand removing itself from her braid as her nerves calmed.

                Armin returned not too long later, a bottle of brown liquid clutched in his pale hand, before dropping it on the cheap school table before the younger omega. Mina blushed even more furiously, stuttering out a sweet thank you and glancing meaningfully at Eren across the table.

                “Well, anyway, I need to talk to my English teacher and see if I can pick up some extra credit.” Mina smiled encouragingly at him, thankful that he would give them some privacy. Armin, though, only looked more confused, completely uncertain about anything that was going on to Eren’s joy – he was definitely going to tease the blonde about this later.

                Wandering aimlessly outside, he found a place to sit under a large tree that cast shadows over the lush green grass. The sun continued to shine brightly over the lawn and he was glad that he was able to find a bit of shade so that he would be able enjoy his outside surroundings while not burning to a crisp. _I wonder what Armin will tell Mina…_ The brunette laid on his back, looking at the blue sky through the breaks in the leafy ceiling above him, a few birds flying aimlessly through his vision.

                A small ‘bing’ had him pulling his phone from his pocket, a lazy finger swiping over the screen. Usually, Eren only ever got texts from Armin, so he was surprised to find a text from an unfamiliar number.

**From: unknown**

_Hey Eren, it’s Mikasa. I was wondering if you wanted to meet me for coffee some time so that we can get to know each other. A good working relationship is necessary in creating a successful movie, after all._

                His eyebrows rose at the message, but then a smile crept across his expression, excitement beginning to grow in his chest. One of his idols was messaging him and asking him out for coffee!

**To: Mikasa**

_Sure, Im free wheneva :) wat about today?_

                It took a few minutes for a reply, but as soon as a reply came in, he let out a very _manly_ squeal and rolled onto his front and then back to looking at the sky.

**From: Mikasa**

_Today sounds fine. Is 4pm ok for you? If so, I know this great place – I’ll text you the address._

                Another ‘bing’ sounded from his phone, displaying the address for a coffee shop not too far away from his school – a very lucky coincidence.

**To: Mikasa**

_Great! Ill see u there_

                The shrill bell sounded through the empty grounds, pulling a drawn out groan from the back of his throat – it felt like lunch had only just started and it was _already_ time to go back? Glad that nobody was around to see his theatrics, Eren made an exaggerated show of hauling his body off the soft grass, stretching tan arms above his head to work out all the kinks. The trudge back through the school halls was incredibly tiring; did it always take this long to get places? _Today is definitely not a good day to be in school_ , he sighed internally.

                Similar zombies in the form of his classmates and peers seemed to have the same mindset as they mosied along to wherever they needed to be, but his keen eyes spotted a familiar head of black hair, sparking a bit of life in his worn out soul. Easily pushing his way to reach the younger girl, Eren lightly touched Mina’s shoulder, the beginnings of a grin starting to form when she turned around with slightly reddened cheeks. As soon as she saw him, her eyes cast downwards and she began to shift from foot to foot, avoiding meeting his eyes.

                “E-Eren, what can I do for you?” The teen felt puzzled at her how she was acting around him, but mentally shrugged it off as some weird girl thing – she seemed really unstable with her moods. That thought brought a little chuckle in his mind, but at her inquisitive stare, he realised that he’d also laughed out loud.

                “Sorry; soooo,” he hedged, grinning widely. “How’d everything go with Armin?” Brown eyes widened marginally before starting to water, the slight downwards tilt of her lips telling him everything that he needed to know. It was a shame because he thought she was cute and, from what he’d heard, intelligent – he’d need to question his friend later about the rejection. Before he could offer any comforting words, she was speaking again.

                “It’s okay, don’t worry about it; I’ll be fine. Uh, ah, I should get to class now.” With that, Mina raced off, clutching her books close to her body and leaving behind a distinctly ‘awkward’ air.

                “That was weird,” he mumbled to himself, but quickly shook the thoughts off – he needed to race if he wanted to get to class on time.

                Luckily, the class was still devoid a teacher when he burst inside, drawing a few looks and giggles at his entrance, but everyone was used to him by now.

                “Urgh, I hate maths,” Eren groaned as he plopped into the chair that he had claimed at the start of the term, next to Armin, who had already gotten out everything he needed for the lesson.

                “So do I…” He wasn’t sure if the quietly spoken words were meant for him to hear, but he still did, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the blonde alpha. Eren wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard his friend willingly admit to not liking any aspect of his academic education, and considering just how good he was at maths, it was definitely a surprise.

                “Since when didn’t you like –” The classroom door closed with a _bang_ that echoed with finality, effectively rendering the class speechless. The excessively large form of their maths teacher, Mr Strite, ambled to his desk, dropping her papers onto the top with a sour expression. It had been weeks since anyone had last seen the man, a bubbly substitute having taken his place in his absence. Rumours, as they were wont to do in a school, had flown radically about the man in the face of his absence, ranging from taking vacation leave to dead. Personally, the brunette never wanted to see him again.

                The quiet crack of splintering wood sounded beside Eren, his large eyes taking in the sight of his usually docile friend tightly gripping the edge of his desk, knuckles white under the force. Blue eyes glittered dangerously with the cold intensity of the arctic, and Eren was almost convinced that if he tried hard enough, Armin would be able to kill just with his eyes.

                The angry, robust man viciously wrote a few equations on the board that they had learned with their sub, the shiny black ink on the white background squeaking with every flick of his wrist. Nobody was sure how to react, a few awkward coughs and looks being exchanged between the students. The teacher was clearly in a horrible mood, and he still had yet to say anything. Eren quietly retrieved his textbook from his bag, not wishing to invoke any wrath his way. After almost ten minutes of utter silence, Mr Strite finally turned from the board capping the marker with more force than necessary.

                “I hear you learned these while I was away; does anyone have any questions before we move on?” One brave hand raised shakily, the student attached to the arm looking like they were starting to regret their choice. There was no indication for the student to talk other than a quick head nod.

                “Where were you, sir?” It was an ambitious question – everyone had been curious, but no one held the bravery to ask. The intense scowl in reply made even that one brave soul cower in their seat, wishing to take the words back.

                “I hardly see how that’s any of your business; now, if no one has any questions pertaining to the lesson, then we will continue.” The time began to pass at a torturously slow pace, the scratching of pencils on paper and the occasional explanation from the front of the room being the only thing to punctuate the time. He kept his head down the entire time, but was also aware of the occasional, burning look directed his way.

                Minute after minute ticked by slowly until the loud bell screamed through the room, sounding to Eren like it was saying ‘you’re free!’ He couldn’t have packed his things up quicker, hoping to escape from the stifling atmosphere clinging to him.

                “Mr Jaeger, if I could please have a moment of your time?” The deep voice had him stilling in his step, his head swivelling in place to see his teacher sitting heavily in a chair that didn’t look able to hold his impressive weight. A strange feeling coursed through his veins, his heart pumping just a little faster than normal; it was a feeling that he usually only had around one other person: fear. By sheer force of will, the brunette woodenly moved to stand in front of the desk, but leaving enough space that he’d be able to run without being caught if the need arose.

                “Mr Arlert, I’m sure you have another class to attend? This will only take a moment.” At the words, Eren glanced to his side out of the corner of his eye, only mildly surprised to see Armin still standing in the now empty room, a stony glare morphing his facial features into something almost unrecognisable.

                “I don’t think so, _sir_ ,” the blonde spat, arms coming up to cross in front of his chest, legs standing shoulder width apart; he also noticed that Armin was about half a step in front of the brunette. He wasn’t the most well-versed when it came to alpha interactions, but he was almost positive that such a stance was a challenge to another alpha.

                “It doesn’t include you Arlert, so go to your next class before I give you detention.” The large man huffed as he stood up, a menacing look trying to intimidate the younger alpha. Eren frowned, a strange feeling of helplessness weighing down against his skin at the fight. _I fucking hate alphas_ , he growled to himself, getting fed up with the situation.

                “What do you want _sir_? I’m sure whatever you have to say can be said in front of Armin, and if it can’t, then I don’t think I want to stay and find out.” The older man huffed with annoyance, scrubbing a single hand over his face.

                “Fine! I want to say… I’m sorry for my behaviour a few weeks ago towards you. I was… disrespectful and acted in a manner… unbefitting of a teacher towards a student.” His beady eyes flitted towards the taller teen, his angry eyes showing what he thought of the ‘apology’ to his friend. His clenched teeth and abrupt tone only told both teens that he didn’t necessarily agree with his own words.

                “Ah, it’s alright, I guess… Can we go to class now?” A small tick appeared in the large man’s jaw, his eyes hard and cold as he looked briefly between the two.

                “… Yes, let me just write you some notes to explain to your next teacher why you’re late.” With the slips of paper handed to the students, Armin and Eren easily escaped the room, heading towards their last period of the day, the blonde still silently seething. Deciding that it was probably not the best thing to break the silence or bring up what happened, the shorter teen casually played with the paper in his hand. Suddenly, he realised that there were two slips in his hand – the one for his teacher and another. Curiosity piqued, he easily read the contents of the note, his large eyes showing every emotion passing through his mind.

_You think you can get away with what you did to me? It’s about time you learn the proper way to treat those above you – someone like you lives to serve an alpha. Trust me when I say that a little slut like you will eventually realise that everything I’ve said to you is true. Come seek me out when you understand your place in this world._

                _How dare he?!_ Rage seethed in the core of his being, hatred oozing from his pores as his eyes took in the poisonous words.

                “Are you okay?” Silently, he handed the paper over, unable to even form the basic requirements of speech. He knew what a bad idea it was immediately as soon as the most intense smell rolled off the taller blonde, who had stopped walking.

                “A-Armin?” Eren reached up and grabbed hold of his nose, trying to block the scent viciously assaulting his senses to no avail.

                “Go to class, Eren,” he replied, his face deceptively calm.

                “What about you?”

                “Don’t worry about it; I just need to do a few things.” Against his better judgement, the smaller teen allowed himself to be convinced to head on to his next class, worry furrowing his brow in the classic ‘Eren’ frown.

                Armin didn’t turn up at all, and Eren found himself walking out of the school grounds, a few texts to the blonde sitting on his phone without any reply. He was almost preoccupied with his thoughts to remember that he had an important coffee date at four. Deciding that he would drop by Armin’s house later, Eren slowly walked into town, using his phone occasionally to direct him to the out of the way shop; he’d never been there before, but it made him feel warm inside to think that a famous actress was going out of her way to meet with him in his little home town of Shiganshina when she didn’t even have to meet with him.

                A soft tinkling bell chimed whenever the glass-panelled door was pushed open to admit the customers into a quaint, homely interior. The wood panelling on the walls and plush chairs surrounding wooden tables only served to increase the welcoming atmosphere and feelings of ‘home’ in the light air. Eren could tell why Mikasa liked this place so much as he stood awkwardly near the door, not knowing whether he should take a seat or wait outside for the actress since he was early. The cool air, though, was preferable to the heat outside, so he figured it was a good idea to secure a table and just wait inside.

                Four o’clock rolled around and he wouldn’t admit that he was feeling incredibly nervous, especially when the door didn’t open dead on the hour. _She did say 4, didn’t she? What if she meant a different day? No, it was definitely today – but it’s already five past and she isn’t here…_ He quickly pulled out his phone, feeling disheartened when there were no new messages, his face scrunching cutely in frustration.

                “Your face will get stuck like that if you’re not careful.” The softly spoken voice beside him caused him to jump in alarm, his wide eyes taking in the older female. It was hard to believe that she was standing there next to him; this person who he’d been watching in movies since she debuted ten years ago. She gracefully slipped into the chair opposite him, everything about her exuding elegance and sophistication. Her grey eyes were almost like liquid silver under the lights of the shop, pinning him in place, unintentionally intimidating.

                “So, uh,” he cleared his throat. “Did you want to go order something first?”

                “I would like that.” They both easily stood in line, returning with their purchases – a small mocha for Eren and a large chai latte and pastry for Mikasa – and sitting in silence for the next moment while the girl got started on her food. He wasn’t the most outgoing person, but he was never one to stay quiet for too long, saying the first thing that came to his mind. However, it wasn’t something he found he could do in this situation.

                “So you’re still in school, right? This must be your first movie.” He nodded his head vigorously, taking a large sip of his chocolatey coffee and regretting it instantly as his taste buds burned away.

                “Uh, yeah, I’m really excited about it; it still kinda feels like I’m living in a dream at the moment,” he laughed, feeling his muscles gradually untense. She just had this aura surrounding her that put him at ease. It only helped when she let out a small laugh, her lips turning up very slightly that someone sitting further away than him would not be able to notice.

                “I’m sure everyone always feels like that the first time; I remember when I got my first movie gig – it was a small bit part in _The Experiment_ , but I was picked up for a bigger role after that kick started my career. It wasn’t until I’d been in the business for a few years that I got any real major role, but every time I get a role I think ‘this can’t be real’.”

                “That’s so cool; I remember when _The Experiment_ came out – I was seven and mum was really excited to watch it. I don’t really remember the movie itself, but mum started to make some popcorn, but forgot about it halfway through because I was having trouble putting the movie in, and it all ended up burning. The house smelt like burnt popcorn for weeks,” he said, a small, nostalgic smile lighting his features as he remembered the kindest person he ever knew. She had an incredible inner strength and could boss around even the toughest of alphas despite being a little omega. She was probably the one who taught him that you could be anything you wanted and that you didn’t need to be restricted by the social conventions defining each gender.

                “That sounds really nice; I used to watch movies with my family all the time as well. I think that’s one of the reasons why I became interested in acting; some of my fondest memories from my childhood were sitting in front of our little tv set between my brother and uncle.” He’d never met, or seen any pictures of the Ackerman’s uncle, but he just couldn’t picture the mean, quiet alpha he’d met at the script reading sitting down with a younger version of Mikasa and watching movies like he did with his own mother.

              “I can tell what you’re thinking right now – you’re like an open book. Levi used to be a lot sweeter than he is now…” She frowned a little before shaking the thoughts from her head, her features returning to their previously collected and calm expression. “Anyway, about Levi; I really am sorry about what happened the other day and I hope you don’t have any bad feelings towards him – he really is a good guy when you get to know him.”

                “Does he always… act like that?” His mood dropped marginally at the hesitant nod before remembering that the actor had been nice afterwards and he felt a little better. Mikasa was his sister, so it was obvious that she would know him best; if she said he was a ‘nice guy’ than he probably was. “Right…”

                “I don’t really want to talk about Levi, though. I’d like to get to know you better, if that’s alright? I figure if we’re going to work together than it would be good to be friends.” **_Mikasa Ackerman_** _wanted to be friends with me?!_ Thank goodness she couldn’t see in his head so she wouldn’t see his inner fan-girling (something he would only guiltily admit he was doing if tortured). The stoic raven’s light laugh drew him out of his musings, a dark blush spreading over his cheeks when he remembered that the actress had just called his face an ‘open book’.

                “You’re adorable; I think I can see why Erwin wanted you for this part.” He pouted unconsciously, hating the term ‘adorable’ or ‘cute’ or anything like that when associated with him.

                “…Not adorable,” he grumbled, sliding down in his chair even more when she laughed again, taking another large swig of his drink and thanking whatever deity he could that it had cooled down so he wouldn’t hurt his mouth again.

                “Whatever you say. So, school; when do you graduate and come to work with us full time? Erwin said that the schedule would be a little sporadic for the time being because he doesn’t want to interfere with your schooling or homework.” He was a little surprised at that bit of information – the blonde director hadn’t told him that, but it was greatly appreciated; if he didn’t finish school to the best of his ability than he would have an angry blonde alpha at his back for the rest of his life.

                “I finish in a little over a month, so… yeah.”

                “Will you sign a contract with the Survey Corps when you graduate? It isn’t necessary, but most actors that sign with the Survey Corps are guaranteed to always have a role in movies associated with the company. When I first started, I usually worked Shadis’ movies, but I started working with Erwin fairly early on, and I have to say, as a director, he’s really good.”

                “I already agreed to the part – you don’t need to try and convince me any further,” he replied with laughter in his voice. Her eyes crinkled at the corner with subtle mirth.

                “I’m just saying that you’ll like working with him. He actually hasn’t directed a movie for a few years because he’s been too busy with other responsibilities, so you’re like the key to his return to the screen.”

                “No pressure or anything.”

                “You’ll do fine, and if you ever need any help, feel free to ask me.”

                The rest of the time passed easily as they talked and joked – it almost felt like they’d known each other their whole lives. After four coffee refills (on Mikasa’s part – actors must really like the brown muck) Eren noticed that it was starting to get late, the sun slowly descending below the horizon. They started to wrap up their conversation and slowly walked out to the parking lot, where Mikasa’s sleek, black Ferrari Spyder sat, completely out of place among the regular ‘common people’ cars. It was a lucky thing that it was still there and not stolen by one of the many vandals and thieves in the small town.

                “Which one is your car?”

                “Oh, I don’t drive; I usually get lifts with my friend, Armin.” She unlocked her radically expensive car with a small _beep_.

                “Would you like me to drive you home, then?” He didn’t miss how she cast a glance at the darkening sky before looking back at him, a subtle indicator that she would only accept one answer.

                “Uh, okay, that would be great.” Her nod of approval was all he needed to slide into the car, the cushioning of the seats supporting him perfectly. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting on such a luxurious piece of comfort that must have cost more than everything he owns. When he drove with Armin, there were usually school books and text books littering the back seat, and maybe a drink or food wrapper from the day before in the centre console. It calmed his nerves a lot to see that Mikasa’s car was exactly the same – scripts and paperwork in the back and an empty coffee cup in the cup holder. Famous people were just like regular people, it would seem.

                “Sorry it’s a little messy; I usually clean up a little if I know I’ll have company.”

                “Haha, don’t worry about it; it isn’t even that messy,” he replied, sinking even further into the comfy chair, looking at all the different things on the dashboard.

                “If my brother saw the inside of this, he’d kill me,” she laughed, smoothly reversing out of her spot and onto the road. The gentle hum of the engine purred almost silently – a lot different to Armin’s loud growling engine that always made him feel like it was going to explode every time he got in the blonde’s car.

                “Does he like things to be clean?” At his question, the actress laughed harder than she had all afternoon, her face actually showing more emotion than he was used to seeing from her outside of movies.

                “Yes, that’s the understatement of the year; if things aren’t clean to his standard than he _will_ kill someone.” She easily shifted gears and pulled onto the highway, following his directions.

                “Isn’t that a little extreme?”

                “He shoved your head into a table the first time you met him; do you really doubt what I’m saying?” He guessed she had a point.

                A few more minutes of car banter, and then they were pulling up to Eren’s house, the darkened windows cooling the slight fear that always rose in his chest when looking at the neat suburban building.

                “I’ll see you this weekend; it was very nice getting to chat with you like this Eren.” He smiled and bid her goodnight, silently unlocking his front door and reflecting on his day. He’d talked with Mikasa after the first script reading, but she and Armin had done most of the talking, so this afternoon had been very nice.

                Thinking of his friend, he pulled out his phone again, frowning at the lack of response to his multitude of texts even though it had been hours. He tried to phone, but was met with the voicemail, and even when he phoned his house phone, it only rang out. He tried not to, but he couldn’t help but feel the small tendrils of worry creep along his spine – hopefully everything was alright.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this out by last week, but I forgot I was moving last weekend, whoops - all my time went to packing haha But it's here now. Though, I have been writing Levi's background story which will be included later, and it's already almost 13,000 words, so something to look forward to ^_^  
> Enjoy~

                Everything was dark and cold in the near empty classroom, weak moonlight filtering in through the windows. Armin sat perched on the clean wood of his usual desk during the daylight hours, passively observing the unconscious man slumped over his own desk. When he had parted from Eren earlier in the day, his mind was consumed with a cold rage, and all he had wanted to do was find the person who had invoked such anger and rip his damn head off. Luckily, the blonde had always had a good grasp on his instincts managed to suppress his rage under a coldly calm, calculating exterior. It would have done no good to attack the man in the light of the day in front of a room full of students – the likely outcome of that scenario would be Mr Strite overpowering him, and then he would be expelled, something he couldn’t risk so close to graduation.

                Instead, he had made some plans, gathered a few things and waited until the last bell to ring. He took his opportunity when the teacher briefly stepped out of the room to retrieve some things from the teachers’ lounge to drug his coffee. From there, it was easy enough to look the door to conceal the unconscious man and wait for the cleaning staff to go home. A small groan drew his attention as the larger man stirred, his head lifting to reveal groggy and glazed eyes, blinking rapidly to dispel the cotton around his mind.

                “Welcome back, sir; I was starting to think that I’d given you too much and inadvertently killed you.”

                “Arl…ert… what?” He found a sick sense of amusement in the confused look gracing the slack features of the teacher, his small mind working in over time now that it could detect a very real threat. Armin remained seated innocently on the table, his posture giving nothing of his inner thoughts away, but his eyes were sharp and scent potent.

                “Confused? I figured you would be. Now, I’d like to get home at some point tonight, so I’ll cut straight to the chase: we have a very large problem, and that problem revolves around Eren.” He could see the exact moment that things clicked in the teacher’s mind, a dirty grimace easily replacing the confusion.

                “Should have known it was about him… So, what? He come running with that note, all scared and worried? Thought he’d sic his pet alpha on me? Pathetic,” he barked out with a deep laugh, feeling pleased when he noticed that he was almost in full control of his body again. For a genius, he figured Armin was pretty damn stupid for leaving him untied. A stormy expression clouded the blonde’s face, the displeasure evident in his glare.

               “He’s a lot stronger than you give him credit for; I doubt I even need to be here, because if you tried anything again, than he would be more than ready and would knock you onto your arse. Again.” He allowed a little smirk when reminding the disgusting pervert of how his previous attempt at Eren had gone.

                “But,” he began, all trace of amusement gone, leaving only seriousness. “I’m not about to let him get in a similar position again; I will do anything to protect him.” Quicker than the older man believed possible for the slightly athletically-challenged alpha, Armin had vaulted from his desk and crossed the room, a pale hand easily slamming the heavy man back in his chair as slender fingers wrapped around his neck. It was a light grip, but the tension in the fingers spoke volumes about how he could tighten his muscles in a heartbeat to strangle him. He leaned down close to his ear, continuing in a whisper that seemed more ominous in the silent room than had he yelled.

                “If you ever touch him, talk to him, look at him, and even think about him, I _will_ kill you. I won’t think; I won’t hesitate. If I find you giving him notes like the one today, I will kill you. Do you understand?” He felt them muscles under his fingers shift as the teacher swallowed heavily, his eyes blazing in a combination of nervousness and indignation.

                “I understand what you think you’d do, but you know that I can overpower you as soon as you let me go, right?” _What a stupid man_.

                “Than should I just kill you right now to avoid having another confrontation in the future?” His eyes snapped coldly, taking in the suddenly pasty complexion as the colour drained from the man’s skin.

                “F-fine, I’ll leave him alone, I swear.” His eyes shifted from side to side, never looking at the blonde for longer than a second, the lie unravelling before Armin’s eyes. He scoffed and minutely tightened his grip, enough to make the older man sweat.

                “You must think I’m an idiot, but I am not. You can swear all you like, but I won’t ever believe a single word that comes from your mouth. However, I know there are more ways to destroy a life than just simply killing them; I can’t kill you because I can’t have something like that on my record, and even if I cover it up, there would still be a lengthy questioning period that could set back the date of my graduation. It suits me better for you to stay alive; but I need a guarantee that you will keep your word. As such, I have set up fail safes – the first being that if I don’t return home tonight by 9, an email from my computer will automatically be sent to the board of education containing the letter that you so stupidly gave to Eren this afternoon. It’s anonymous, so will not implicate either myself or Eren, as that would lead to investigations that neither of us would care for. It would be simple to prove the writing was yours, but even if they didn’t want to go to that much effort, it would still be a serious allegation against a teacher, and would forever stain your teaching record. Personally, I would prefer if you could no longer teach, because it’s alphas like you that cause so many problems, but we both know that isn’t how the world works. As an alpha, you have certain privileges, and so the best way to deal with you is to destroy your reputation rather than trying to take legal means – people talk and destroy lives much more efficiently and quicker than any legal team could.”

                The teacher slumped helplessly in his chair, uncaring of the hand threatening to remove his air at any moment. He had planned to just remove the boy as soon as he had let go, but now he would have to let him leave to stop the email in time. He knew the boy was a genius – what he didn’t have in the athletics department, he more than made up for in intelligence, so he could only guess at how many ingenious ‘fail safes’ there were. His hands were tied and, as much as it damaged his pride to say, he had no way to refuse the blonde’s requests. It was humiliating having to succumb to another alpha like a little bitch, but he had no choice! When Armin saw the fight leave him, he removed his hand and took a step back, just close enough to still be threatening.

                “Fine, the kid isn’t worth this much hassle anyway, I’ll leave him alone,” he bit out through clenched teeth, his hands clenching and unclenching as he rose to his feet.

                “Good; as I said before, it would end very badly for you if you continue to pursue him, you dirty old perv.” Mr Strite glared at the insult, but attempted to maintain as much dignity and pride as he could, and so silently grabbed him bag to leave.

                The sharp jab to his side was completely unexpected, a small ‘oof’ leaving his mouth in a winded exhale, his bag flying to the ground while he fell to his knees. Swiftly, faster than he could perceive, a bony knee crashed into his chest, just below the solar plexus, forcing him onto his back with a pained cry. When no more attacks came, he hesitantly stood back up, pain radiating from the two areas that were hit. He glared at the silent boy, the blonde’s hostile scent almost non-existent, so he felt safe to lean down to pick up his bag. The side of a pale, closed fist crashed into the small of his back, forcing him onto his hands and knees, mortification dully registering through the pain. A flurry of kicks followed, striking the sensitive, fatty and vulnerable parts of his chest and back, a stray kick landing on a fleshy thigh every now and again. Armin attacked quickly and strategically in the areas that would inflict the most pain, the coldly calculating look never leaving his eyes.

                After only a few minutes, he stopped, looking down with distaste at the battered, bruised coward of a man who hadn’t even tried to fight back. Throughout the attack, there had been no indication in Armin’s scent that he had any aggressive or violent intentions, so the teacher had been slow to react to the blows, and by the time he had wrapped his mind around the fact, it was too late – Armin may not have been as strong as other alphas, but he was fast with a good working knowledge of human anatomy.

                “Wha… How?”

                “Not every alpha is some instinct-driven animal; there _is_ such a thing as control. Good night, sir.” He watched through the haze of pain as his student casually strolled from the room, leaving him in a heap on the floor.

                The cool night breeze fluttered across his skin as Armin slowly wandered to the car park, pulling his phone from his bag to find a few missed texts and calls from Eren, shaking his head with a grin when he thought of how annoyed his friend would be if he found out what happened – he always wanted to fight his own battles, or other people’s battles, but he’d rather die than ‘burden’ someone else with his own issues. Which is why Armin had chosen to do it in secret rather than informing the brunette.

                Thoughts of home and his nice, warm bed filtered through his thoughts as he put the keys in the car door, his mind already mentally going through his book shelf to find what he should read.

                “Hey!” It was too late to start anything non-fiction – he preferred them during the day when there was no risk of falling asleep and forgetting information. Maybe a fantasy novel would be nice right now…

                “Hey, wait!” But he didn’t have any new fantasy books, so he’d have to re-read one; not that it was an issue, but he was more in the mood for something he hadn’t read before–

                A hand roughly grabbed his shoulder causing the startled blonde to almost jump out of his skin, whirling around to face his attacker. He was met with a pair of manic brown eyes shielded by a pair of glasses that reflected the light of the street lamp in a way he thought only happened in anime. Considering the time, it was more than a little creepy.

                “Armin, right?” His eyes squinted before widening in recognition of Hanji Zoe. “What are you doing here so late? School ended ages ago.” _Shit, shitshit what do I say?_ There was absolutely no way he could say the truth, but the appearance of the celebrity had rattled his brain enough that an excuse wouldn’t readily jump forward.

                “I, ah, um, left my car here while I, ah, went to the shops earlier, but I forgot it, so I’m just picking it up… now?” He offered a sheepish smile, unnerved by the unwavering smile directed at him.

                “Ah, well, that makes sense! You should head home though; you have to be up bright and early tomorrow!” He nodded in a daze, pulling his keys from the car and opening the door. Before slipping inside, he paused, a frown marring his otherwise calm features as he turned back to look at them.

                “Wait, what are you doing here?” The glasses glinted again, concealing their eyes briefly as the smile morphed into a more mysterious, yet knowing smile.

                “I took a wrong turn, and I saw you, so I was going to ask for directions, but then I realised we were at the school and I know my way from here.” He nodded again, turning on the ignition.

                “Right, well I guess I’ll see you later then. Good night.” He drove out of the car park, watching the actor walk away in his rear-view mirror.

                “They had no car… Just what were they doing there?” His mind puzzled the mystery all the way home, but by the time he was curled up in bed with a book, he still hadn’t come to any conclusion.

                As Hanji watched the blonde pull away, they couldn’t help but smirk in excitement. _What an interesting pair they make, Mr strange beta Jaeger and Mr unusual alpha Arlert._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                “I said I was sorrrry!” Eren continued to walk without looking at the blonde most likely still following him, his nose turned up slightly in mock haughty indignation. Armin rolled his eyes at the theatrics, though he knew his friend was probably still mad so didn’t make any comment.

                “I meant to text you, but I forgot; what can I say to make it up to you?” Eren briefly looked at Armin out of the corner of his eyes, a small sigh escaping.

                “Fine, I forgive you – I was just worried since you didn’t show up for class, and you never skip… But, I’m sure you’ll tell me when you’re ready, so… Meeting Mikasa yesterday was fun,” he grinned boyishly, his eyes sparkling in memory causing Armin to roll his eyes again.

               “Careful, if you look like that when remembering her, than I’d have to think you might be falling for her,” he teased, though he knew there was no merit in the jab. As expected, the tan of Eren’s skin exploded in red out of embarrassment, the spluttering denials lasting until they got to their classroom.

                “It isn’t like that, I mean, we only just met and she’s heaps older than me and she’s not, well…”

                “Male?” The shy nod was all he needed to back off a bit – usually people only cared what gender they were dating, the biological sex being inconsequential, but Eren had always found the male form vastly more attractive than the female, and he was still a little insecure with that thought. It didn’t matter how many times Armin had tried to tell him that it didn’t matter if he preferred one to the other, the brunette still believed he was a bit odd for not liking both.

                “She seemed nice when we met her the other day, but I guess that was more a business meeting than anything else; does she act like she does in interviews?”

                “Pretty much, but I was surprised at how much more expressive she could get – whenever I watched her on tv and interviews and stuff, I always thought she was kinda… distant? I don’t, whatever it is, she isn’t, so it doesn’t matter.” The blonde nodded his understanding at the confusing sentence, knowing exactly what it was that Eren was trying to say – he’d always gotten a similar impression as well.

                “Did you get an autograph,” he teased, carefully taking out the books and pens he would need for the lesson. Eren frowned.

                “It’s not like I wouldn’t have liked one, but we work together now, so I figured it would be a bit… unprofessional. And talking and acting with her is way better than a crappy piece of paper with a few impersonal words. She said she wanted to be friends. With me! I still can’t believe this is happening, like one day I’ll wake up and realise it was just some crazy dream and everything will be back to its normal, boring self.” He flopped down over his desk, cushioning his head on his arms.

                “Well, if it is a dream, you might as well enjoy it for as long as you can,” Armin replied with a smile. “But in the mean time, don’t let it affect your schoolwork; graduation is –”

                “Right around the corner, I know.”

                “Have you looked through the script yet?” At the change in topic, steering the conversation away from the dreaded idea of school, Eren popped his head up slightly, eyes shining.

                “Yes! I’ve even started to memorise a few lines; you’ll have to practice with me some time so I can get it all down pat.”

                “Sure, that sounds fine. But for now, shush and pay attention,” the blonde scolded, his eyes going to the front of the room as the teacher began their lesson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The black Ferrari Spyder pulled up into the long driveway of a nice little two story suburban house. The location wasn’t ideal, but compared to the other houses surrounding it, it was clearly the best kept building on the block with a well-maintained garden and lawn. Mikasa slid out of her car and locking it with a small _beep_ without looking as her eyes surveying the street briefly behind designer sunglasses; her presence on the street was never unnoticed, but she was always left alone by the neighbours – most of them had known her all her life, so a bit of fame wasn’t going to change their views of her. She glanced at the car parked in front of hers, a shiny black Lamborghini Aventador – in her opinion, a completely ridiculous and expensive car and it gave her some petty satisfaction see that she had accidentally blocked it in. It was a bit strange to see the two cars, so out of place with the rest of the poorer street, but she ignored it as she walked to the front door; nobody would dare to steal from them either, so she wasn’t worried.

                The door was unlocked as she walked into the familiar kitchen without announcing herself; it wasn’t often these days that they could all be present at any one time, and she was very much looking forward to dinner tonight.

                “Mikasa, I didn’t hear you come in; what have I told you about sneaking around before saying hello?” A small smile graced her lips and her eyes softened as she took in the image of her uncle beside her. The years were not being too kind to him, his hair growing more grey hairs every time she saw him.

                “Uncle,” the raven haired alpha greeted warmly, embracing the taller man. “I thought you’d be in the kitchen. Where’s Levi, I saw his car in the driveway?”

                “Yes, his monstrosity’s out there; I suppose you brought yours as well?” He laughed lowly with a small shake of his head – he never pulled any punches when commenting about their cars. It was no secret that he thought they were a waste of money, and viewed them only as the competitive rivalry between sibling alphas – Mikasa got an expensive car, so Levi had to go out and get an even more expensive one. Mikasa could only lift the corners of her lips into a tiny smile, shaking her head.

                “My car is a masterpiece. Is he up in his room?” Kenny nodded vaguely and turning back to whatever it was that was cooking on the stove, stirring it carefully. Taking this as her cue to leave, the ravenette navigated through the house that she grew up in, up the stairs before arriving in front of her brother’s door. The two had silently promised themselves to never change anything about their rooms out of respect for their uncle – whenever he came passed them when they were gone, he would always be able to remember the good times of when they were younger. Unfortunately, it meant that her own room was the same as it had been when she was seventeen, and going through her ‘boy band’ phase, leaving embarrassing posters across the walls.

                However, it was worth it just to see stoic, grown-up Levi’s old room that he hadn’t lived in since he was sixteen. She smirked, as she did every time, when she read the sign hanging from the door, the edges of the paper yellowing and curling slightly.

Levi’s room

DO NOT ENTER

(Except for Mikasa if she knocks)

(But never Kenny – stay out of my room!)

                With three heavy knocks, she waited for an answer, but didn’t get any, so just pushed the door open anyway. Laying on his bed in the immaculately clean room was her older brother reading a book, his eyes lazily travelling to her at her illegal entrance.

                “I don’t remember saying for you to come in,” he drawled, his eyes moving back to the pages in his hand, but she could tell she now had his full attention.

                “I knocked, and the sign implies that if I knock I can enter – it doesn’t say anything about needing permission,” she said with a smug tone, gracefully crossing the carpet to drop into the desk chair. Levi groaned and looked up at the ceiling with a deep frown.

                “What do you want?”

                “I just got in, so I thought I’d be sisterly and say hello, but if you want to be such a jackass about it, then I won’t,” she sniffed, her face giving nothing away, but her tone clearly said she was offended. Levi groaned childishly and rolled over so his back was to her, causing the younger girl to roll her eyes. After a few seconds, he rolled back around and sat up, his eyes connecting with hers, the frown still remaining like a permanent fixture.

                “Fine, hello; is that all you wanted? Because if it was then go away – I want a few moments to myself before dinner.” She raised her eyebrows.

                “You just got here and you already need time alone? In your room? With the door closed?” He could hear the grin entering her voice. “I see, well, if it was _alone_ time you needed, you should have just said – but in the future, I don’t really want to know.”

                “Don’t put emphasis on ‘alone’ you little shit!” She could barely see a little bit of red crawling over his pale face, and she laughed at him before heading to the door.

                “Should I close this behind me,” she teased, getting enjoyment out of the look of annoyance on her brother’s face.

                “ _Should I close this behind me?_ ” Mikasa frowned slightly at his response.

                “What?”

                “ _What?_ ”

                “Stop copying me!” Her hands clenched at the smirk now replacing any trace of embarrassment that had been present.

                “ _Stop copying me_ ,” he mimicked, rising from the bed as well. Deciding that she didn’t have to put up with this, Mikasa fled from the room as fast as she could without running or making it seem like she was running away. Levi followed close behind.

                “Stop following me, asshole!”

                “ _Stop following me asshole!_ ” Mikasa couldn’t remember the last time she had ever felt this annoyed – it was probably when they last lived together, only Levi could rile her up like this.

                “I mean it Levi – if you don’t stop copying me, you will regret it,” she said as she spun to face him, her face showing that she clearly meant business.

                “ _I mean it Levi – if you don’t stop copying me, you will regret it_ ,” he recited, making his tone go into a ridiculously put-on falsetto, that sounded nothing like the seething female alpha.

                “Fine, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you left me no choice.” With that, she pushed passed him and ran down the stairs, footsteps close behind her to say that the male alpha was chasing after her.

                “ _Fine, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you left me no choice_.” The two siblings burst into the kitchen, surprising Kenny, who had been tasting a little of the food to make sure it was seasoned properly.

                “Kenny, Levi won’t leave me alone!”

                “ _Kenny, Levi won’t leave me alone!_ ” Kenny took a deep breath, a deadpan expression taking place as he observed his very much adult children.

                “You’re both acting like children; if you don’t want me to treat you like children and send you to your rooms until dinner, than resolve… whatever _this_ is,” he said authoritatively, a hand sweeping between them to emphasise what he was talking about.

                “But Kenny, he started it!”

                “ _But Kenny, he started it!_ ” Their uncle sent the older sibling a withering look that would have had a lesser man cowering, but Levi held his ground, matching the look with one of his own.

                “Levi, leave your sister alone, now.”

                “Seriously though, she started it – she barged into my room without permission and then insulted me,” he pouted – though if accused of pouting he would deny it vehemently.

                “Is this true, Mikasa?” She frowned, looking away briefly before returning her eyes to her uncle in a challenging glare.

                “I guess so… but I was just saying hi! And he was an asshole to me.” Kenny sighed – they were rich, successful actors heralded for their maturity and ‘cool, distant personas’, yet whenever they came to visit him, they were reverted back to their child-like state where, even as mature children, they would get into such petty squabbles.

                “Both of you just apologise and come help me set the table.” He stayed long enough to hear them both give quiet, insincere apologies, before turning back to the kitchen with a long-suffering sigh. The sound of the doorbell jolted the three from the silence of their activities, and Levi practically shoved the silverware he was holding into Mikasa’s hands with an order to set the table before dashing off to answer the door. She just could _not_ stand him sometimes as she grumbled all through her newly appointed task.

                Levi casually opened the door and gave a small, warm smile to the girl on the other side.

                “Heya big bro, sorry I’m a little late, but better late than never!” The bubbly ball of energy flew into the house, her red pigtails flying out behind her as she made a beeline straight for the kitchen.

                “Oi, Isabel, don’t run in the damn house!” He shook his head, but found he couldn’t be mad at her – but that was nothing new.

                “Can I assume we’re invited in as well, or is it just Izzy?” His unimpressed face turned back to the other two guests standing on the doorstep: an insane brunette and sheepish blonde, a.k.a. Hanji and Erwin. Technically Isabel, Hanji and Erwin had been considered family for a long time now, but he was hesitant to let the tall blonde back into his house. _You promised yourself that you would try to get passed things_ , a small voice whispered in the back of his mind, and he found himself huffing a sigh, but stepping aside to allow them in.

                “Great! What’s for dinner?” They followed him to the dining room where Isabel and Mikasa had already made themselves at home. Levi shrugged – knowing his uncle, it was probably something uncomplicated but easy to serve many people. Like spaghetti.

                “Hey, grumpypants, can I put my stuff in your room?” He frowned at the nickname that Hanji had given him – he despised it with a burning passion. He wasn’t grumpy, he was just… calm, or whatever that zen shit was. If that made him come across as grumpy, than it wasn’t his fault.

                “Whatever, but call me that again and I’ll rip a fucking arm off,” he growled; perhaps he was sometimes prone to bouts of ‘grumpiness’ (as Hanji would say), but again, it wasn’t his fault that he constantly surrounded himself with idiots. Hanji laughed, unfazed.

                “Here, Erwin take my things when you take yours, thanks,” they said, forcefully pushing a bag and coat into the unsuspecting blonde’s arms and directing him to the stairs. Not that he needed to be told where to go as he had been here plenty of times. When he was out of sight, Levi’s eyes widened marginally at the idea of the blonde alpha in his room, possibly touching his stuff and the idea angered him more than he said he would allow. With no explanation, he launched from the room and ran back up the stairs, skidding to a halt in time to see Erwin merely placing everything down on the bed before turning to leave and coming face to face with the shorter alpha.

                He knew it was irrational, this fear of Erwin being in his room, the anger that came with the thought of him touching his things, but all he could think was _too soon; it’s too soon to let him back into my life_.

                “Levi? Are you… okay?” He was hesitant, all traces of his normal bravado and confidence gone as he took in the image of the actor, a cold glare directed right at him and strong enough to freeze entire continents. Erwin’s blue eyes drooped in sadness, his body language dropping to show he was no threat and that he wouldn’t fight if it came down to that – which it might considering the coiled muscles shifting beneath Levi’s pale skin.

                “Fine,” the raven bit out forcefully, not sure what to do from here – not sure what he _wanted_ to do from here. However, Erwin had always been the more intelligent of the two and could read the problem almost straight away.

                “It bothers you that I’m in here… I suppose I can understand, but… Levi, you know I’d never want to hurt you, especially after –”

                “Don’t say it!” A muscle twitched in Levi’s jaw, his control slipping for just a millisecond.

                “I’m sorry, Levi; you know I am and…” The prideful blonde turned his head briefly, his mind running quickly to try and figure out a solution but coming up blank. “I don’t know what to do to make it up to you, but I’m willing to try anything. There was a time when you considered me your brother, and I know it’s selfish, but I want those days back, so please, tell me what I need to do.” Never in his life could Erwin Smith ever remember begging for anything – he was a man who was always in control, and who had people tripping over themselves just to do what he asked, but it had always been different with Levi. The black haired alpha had a will that was just as strong, if not stronger than his own and refused to bow down for anyone.

                “I want to move passed it and forgive you, but… I just can’t forget. My mind keeps telling me that it wasn’t your fault, that… But then there’s the other part that will always be weary and suspicious – I mean, I fucking freaked out just because you were my room filled with junk that I haven’t thought about since I was sixteen! I don’t know what I want to do, but…” He grimaced at what he was going to say next. “I’ll talk to Hanji and see what they say, and what advice they have to give. I’m ready to move on.” Erwin couldn’t contain the small smile that seeped through out of relief, his eyes closing for a second before opening to show them filled with his determination and confidence once more.

                “We should head back down; I think I can hear Kenny dishing up.” It wasn’t much, but it was a step in the right direction, and Erwin couldn’t have been happier.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                A lone table surrounded by chairs stood innocuously in the poorly lit room, the lone light bulb hanging above the table having nearly reached the end of its lifespan. The only door into the room opened with a loud screech, any residing rodents scampering away at the sudden noise. The newcomer turned their nose up at the surroundings, their face scrunching in disgust, but they took their place at the table regardless of their personal opinion. After fifteen minutes, everyone was present; each of the ten chairs being occupied. It was the first person who arrived that spoke up first.

                “Isn’t this setting a bit cliché? I feel like a bad guy in a poorly budgeted B-grade movie,” they said emotionlessly, but the sarcasm and scorn dripped from their tongue like acid.

                “It’s just easier this way – less chance of being identified on the off chance that someone was followed, and in such an out of the way location that nobody would ever suspect anything.” The original person only scoffed.

                “Why should anyone feel like bad guys? All we’re doing is creating a company – we’re not murdering anyone or doing anything illegal?” Another voice hesitantly spoke up, eliciting a few chuckles and a little mocking laughter. The person sunk lowly in their chair, wishing they had never spoken up in the first place.

                “True, true, it will be a simple company – but we’re not creating one, we’re taking over a pre-existing company. It would be way too much hassle to have to start from the bottom, especially in this industry where it’s just so hard to claw your way up, not if your competition is as powerful and widely known as the Survey Corps. In fact, we’ve already implemented a swift take over, and it should be finished within the next twelve hours.” The person stood up – the clear leader of the small group – their presence imposing and intimidating.

                “This is our time; we can finally take our revenge against that damned Survey Corps and their unofficial fucking leader: Erwin Smith!” There were a few cheers at the exclamation, a twisted smirk pulling across the usually passive features of the original person.

                “B-but how? Make bigger, better and more movies? We might have the reputation of the previous company owners, but won’t the shareholders be disheartened and lose a bit of faith at the new board of directors until we can prove our worth?” The hesitant voice spoke up again, looking like they could imagine a thousand and one other places that they would rather be than right here. The leader cast them a sharp look.

                “No; I’ve seen to it personally that no faith will be lost, and that we can sufficiently maintain and boost the current reputation of the company. I’ve heard through the rumour mill that Erwin Smith has just scouted a very promising new talent, but he hasn’t been signed yet – I want him; it would severely dent Smith’s plans if his new star was to suddenly quit and jump ship, and it would also damage the Survey Corps’ reputation that they were unable to sign such promising talent. I know that Smith is still at odds with Zackley, and I’ve also heard that there’s a bit of animosity between him and his other co-star: Levi Ackerman. Really, it’s already a sinking ship; all we need to do is… give it a little push off the edge.”

                It wasn’t too long afterwards that the meeting came to an end and all the people present silently removing themselves from the dingy room. The leader grabbed the arm of one of the people who had remained silent the entire time, looking into the eyes of one of his trusted members.

                “I take it you read the information I sent you? Can I trust that you will be able to do as I ask?”

                “Yes, sir; it’s such an easy assignment that you pretty much already mark it off as done,” they smirked with an infuriatingly large amount of cockiness and confidence. The leader merely grunted in reply, but allowed the other passed, leaving the room last just to survey if any rats had remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you like it ^_^ I wasn't completely certain how I wanted to deal with Mikasa's and Levi's relationship, but I figure (since they're on good terms) that even the most stoic people in the world succumb to some childish antics when with their sibling haha  
> Barely any Eren in this one, so you'll see more of him later  
> Stuff's starting to happen, hopefully things aren't going to fast or too slow (I'd hate for it to be boring haha), and everything will be answered in time ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back!!! Sorry about the super long wait - I was planning to post just before Christmas, but I had no internet :( and then not too long after I went on a trip to Europe ^_^ I've only just gotten back (yes, it was a reeeally long time and I loved it! ^_^) so hopefully I'll update again soon

                The wind whipped viciously outside, banging against the doors and rattling the window panes. Eren curled tightly underneath his covers, eyes tightly clenched in an attempt to block out the outside noises so he could get even a small amount of sleep. It was unfortunate that such a large storm had to happen the day before he needed to return to the Survey Corps the next day – being tired was the last thing he needed. Another booming crash of thunder reverberated through his tiny room, pulling forth another small whimper, tan hands clutching his ears. His house was so large – much too big for two people – and the echoes the empty rooms created only continued to add to the overall eeriness of the situation.

_The wind moaned terribly through the crack created by the ajar front door, barely hanging on by its hinges. The entryway was saturated with water and mud, ruining the priceless rug that Eren’s grandmother had painstakingly knitted before the arthritis rendered her hands useless. Eren crouched fearfully behind the overturned couch, using the throw rug dangling from the piece of furniture as a form of shield. His young mind couldn’t understand what was happening – why were these strangers in his house and ruining everything? He could hear his mother in the kitchen arguing with them – telling them to leave before her alpha gets home and kills them._

_“D-daddy,” he whimpered quietly, pressing his face further into the blanket to muffle his sounds. His dad was usually home by now, but he must have gotten caught up with a patient. A crash sounded from the kitchen, completely different from the sounds of the storm – instead sounding more like plates breaking on the floor and shattering into millions of pieces._

_“Aww, baby, don’t be so cold; we don’t want no problem with your alpha, all we want is to show ya a good time.”_ Did they want to play a game with mummy? _His curiosity was starting to eat at him – a trait that his parents had said would get him into trouble one day. He shuffled to the end of the couch and craned his neck to try and get a view of the kitchen, but it was still blocked by the island counter. He heard some scuffling noises before the sound of skin on skin resonated over the storm._

_“Don’t you touch me you filthy alpha.”_

_“Fucking bitch! She fucking slapped me!” There were more scuffling noises before he heard a high shriek that only prompted more tears to fall. Before he could stop himself, or even realise that he was moving, Eren was on his feet and leaving the safety of his hiding spot and running towards the kitchen. His dad wasn’t home yet, which meant that it fell to Eren to be the man of the house and protect his mother from any threats._

_The scene of the kitchen was destruction with broken china scattered everywhere, giving no indication of its previous form of a bowl or a cup or something else. There were three men surrounding his mum, and none of them had noticed his presence yet, instead crowding the smaller beta against one of the counter tops and laughing at her feelings of hopelessness. With a deep seated need urging him forward, Eren’s bare feet guided him over the glass and china, his small hand clutching onto a pan – the first thing he was able to pick up. Without a thought to height differences, size and weight differences, imbalance of power, anything, Eren swung with all the might possessed in his small, ten-year-old frame of skin and bones, slamming the pan into the knee of the closest assailant, delighting in the sound of bones crunching and breaking as the man collapsed to the ground with an undignified yelp of surprise._

_All attention was immediately on him and away from his mum, to his relief, but the look of desperation and fear staining his mother’s pretty face was enough to douse his nerves in cold water._

_“Would’cha look at that; turns out there was a brat home afterall.”_

_“No, leave him alone! Eren – run!”_

                Eren turned onto his other side away from the window that was trying to create eerie shapes through the curtains, his brow furrowing into a deep frown. Perhaps he should try and do something productive since it was almost certain that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed and blindly searched around for the script that he had left on his floor somewhere, feeling a small sense of triumph when his hand landed on the thick bunch of papers. Climbing back under the safety of his covers, Eren switched on his bedside lamp and allowed his mind to drift into the fictional world of the story.

                _Nick looked up at the large, imposing doors leading into the high school, worry making itself evident on his face as his mind considered all the possibilities that could occur on the other side of those doors. He was just starting high school, his new omega status still very clear in his mind; every other year he was the same as everyone else, only a rare few presenting early, but by now everyone in his age group should have presented. Would they look at him any different? Would they hate him? Push him? Alienate him? When he’d voiced his worries to his mother earlier before she drove him to school, she had merely laughed and told him not to worry and that he should have ‘no problems making friends’. Her assurances didn’t make this any easier._

_“Hey, you look a little lost; first day?” He spun quickly at the unfamiliar voice to his side, his large eyes landing on a large alpha – he was almost surprised that the school shirt was even capable of wrapping around the enormous muscles bulging along the other’s arms and chest. He instantly blushed and turned his head, not wanting to appear as though he was checking the other out, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a small amount of attraction towards the other. A small chuckle brought him out of his thoughts, reminding him that he had been asked a question._

_“Ah, yeah, a little…?” The other smiled kindly and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him towards the entrance doors._

_“Well, don’t worry ‘bout it, I’ll help you find the office and whatnot. I’m Jeff, by the way,” he added as though as an afterthought. Nick was starting to feel a little flustered at the constant contact, unused to being shown so much attention._

_“Thanks,” he replied bashfully, ducking his head again to avoid the other’s – Jeff’s – eyes from seeking his own out. “I-I’m Nick.”_

_“It’s very nice to meet you, Nick.” His name rolled from Jeff’s tongue, and Nick felt a shiver run down his spine – something he was sure Jeff could feel if the miniscule smirk was anything to go by. He had no idea what was happening – this was the first time that he had seen an alpha apart from his father since he presented, so he figured he must just be hyperaware of an alphas’ presence at the moment._

_“You too,” he responded with a blinding smile, feeling his nerves gradually leaving and his muscles losing their tenseness. Once all the office procedures were dealt with, Jeff casually began directing to him to his first class, much to his relief because there was no way he would know how to navigate the intimidating school yet. The guiding hand that had lain on his shoulder before had slowly dropped as they walked until it rested casually in the middle of his back, and he found the weight comforting in such an unfamiliar environment._

_Suddenly, Nick felt a strange tickling sensation at the back of his senses, and he began to look around subtly in an attempt to find what was causing it, oblivious as Jeff continued to prattle on about information concerning the school and other things that Nick didn’t hear about. He was about to give up his furtive search, but then his eyes looked onto another pair that was staring straight into his soul. It felt as though time stopped for a moment as the two maintained eye contact, a type of electricity crackling between them and setting the very air on fire until there was none left to breathe, his heart speeding up in response to his breathlessness. It only lasted an instance – not even long enough for Jeff to notice – but as quickly as it had occurred, the connection was broken as the other student turned away, a thoughtful expression adorning his face, and Nick felt the other’s absence on a level that he had never experienced before–_

                A clap of thunder exploded above him, raining light through the cracks in his curtain, louder than the other ones – loud enough to break his concentration and draw his attention back to the present.

                “This is getting ridiculous…” However, now that the connection was broken, he was unable to regain the connection with his character – Nick – and was left looking up at the ceiling that was once more covered under a blanket of darkness.

                “Eren!” The cry of his name had him jumping from his bed and rolling under it without a single thought, much to his embarrassment, and it wasn’t until the same voice yelled again, anger definitely colouring the tone, that he pulled himself from his safe hiding spot and slowly trudging down the stairs, weary of the sounds of the storm still raging. He hadn’t even heard the other get home, but that wasn’t surprising considering the volume of the background noises.

                “Where’r’ya, stup’d boy?” The younger male cringed at hearing the massive amount of slurring – that was never a good sign, nor was it a good sign that Grisha had returned home in the dead of the night. Entering the kitchen, he sighed quietly in exasperation at the mess the man had already made, his head stuck in one of the many cupboards as he threw its contents to the ground in frustration to join the other piles thrown from the other cupboards.

                “Dad…” he hedged closer minutely, unsure of which drunk his father was right now. “What… are you looking for?” At his son’s voice, Grisha stopped his fruitless searching and sat back, landing heavily on the ground and looked up at his shorter son with pathetic eyes.

                “Eren… My Eren, where have you been? Daddy came home as soon as he noticed the storm, but you weren’t hiding under the couch…” Eren sighed internally – it was one of _those_ nights; the type of night where he looked at his son and only saw the child version at 10 or younger. Eren hadn’t chosen the couch as his choice of hiding spot from a storm since he was nine.

                “I think it’s time for you to go to be,” he said, trying to keep his tone as soft and gentle as he could, almost like he was speaking to a startled animal. He placed his hands under Grisha’s arms and pulled up to prompt the man to move, but he obviously did not want to get up.

                “Dad… It would be more comfortable in bed.” Again, Grisha refused to budge.

                “Eren, can you go get mummy for me, I need her to get me some painkillers – my head hurts a bit. But don’t worry, because I’m strong.” He gave the not so little boy a smile that looked off with his unfocussed eyes and flushed face. Eren felt his heart tighten at the request – not a command as usual – but he dutifully went to the bathroom and retrieved some painkillers, his hand shaking slightly as he put the box away. When he returned to the kitchen, Grisha had fallen down to his side, his head resting uncomfortably on an upside-down pot in a mockery of a pillow. The brunette knelt beside his father and coaxed the nearly unresponsive man into a semi-sitting position and practically forced the small pills down the man’s throat.

                “Thanks’Carla…” Eren felt the burn deep in his eyes, but refused to let anything fall – definitely not for this sorry excuse of a human, even if he kept bringing up the name of an angel. It took almost two hours of coaxing and pulling for Eren to get the drunken alpha up the stairs and to his own room, where he promptly collapsed face down on the bed. _I hope he suffocates_ , he thought before feeling immensely guilty for the sentiment. With a sigh, Eren dutifully rolled the other man over so he was now lying on his back. Thoroughly exhausted, he left the room and went to the kitchen to bring it to some semblance of order lest he be punished for ‘making a mess’ in the morning. As he worked, unbidden images of his mother came to the forefront of his mind, cruelly torturing him with what he no longer had, even as the evil storm continued to play at the edges of his hearing.

                By the time 8am had rolled around, Eren had completely cleaned the kitchen, and had even gone so far as to disinfect every surface and cooking implement so that he would know for certain that they were clean and would pass and surprise inspections by his father, which he was sometimes wont to do. Now he was just sitting at the dining room table and picking at a piece of bread, waiting for Armin to arrive so that he could finally leave the oppressive atmosphere created in the house.

                Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too much longer, and the minute the old ute had appeared in his driveway, Eren was flying down the stairs onto the driveway and to the car, mindless of the large drops of water that attacked him during his short run. Armin merely raised one blonde eyebrow at his friend’s antics.

                “Good morning?” Eren laughed lightly, finally feeling the pressure lifting from his shoulders.

                “Don’t sound so uncertain; ready for another day of reading?” Armin rolled his eyes.

                “Sure; I’m ready for another day of filling out forms and whatever else Erwin has prepared for me,” he replied smoothly, grimacing at the thought of paperwork – when he agreed to be Eren’s manager, he hadn’t realised just how many forms he would be required to fill out and sign. His response prompted another laugh.

                “Yea, but I know you – I bet you’re enjoying all that extra work,” Eren teased, only gaining a frustrated huff from his best friend. There was a beat of silence in the car.

                “I swear though, if that Levi Ackerman dares to lay a single finger on you again…” It was Eren’s turn to roll his eyes, understanding the protective alpha shtick but also knowing that it was completely unnecessary. In an obvious bid to change the subject, a tan hand switched the radio on, a grin blossoming at the song playing.

                “I love this song – I haven’t heard it in ages!” The blonde shook his head in playful exasperation, allowing the subject to drop, but knowing that he won’t let his threat go as easily as the topic. An hour passed in an easy silence, broken only by the songs that played back-to-back on the radio.

                “Hey, Ar…” The careful tone had the blonde instantly curious as he glanced over at his friend, wondering what could possibly be going on in his head.

                “Yeah?” It took a moment for Eren to finish thinking whatever it was that he was thinking of, before he continued.

                “You remember the other day, right? I was going to ask straight away what happened, but then you disappeared, and then I forgot, but that last song just reminded me. So, what happened?” He looked at his friend imploringly, his eyes going slightly wider in curiosity, whereas the alpha was completely lost.

                “… What? Eren, I don’t know what you’re talking about – which day are we talking about?” Eren sighed in frustration, taking his friends confusion as unwillingness to answer.

                “Mina! You know, that cute black-haired omega who you spoke to the other day.” The confusion instantly cleared from the blonde’s face, but was replaced by a clouded look that Eren didn’t know how to interpret.

                “W-what about her?” The brunette rolled his eyes again.

                “I’m not stupid – she spoke to me first, remember? So, did she ask you out?” The blonde alpha was starting to look visibly uncomfortable with the conversation topic, and Eren knew how to interpret that: embarrassment. He grinned slyly, his eyes shining with a devious light.

                “Oooh, she did, didn’t she? Aren’t you popular, getting such pretty omegas to fall all over themselves just to ask you out on a date.”

                “Eren–”

                “And she was only a first year – she had a lot of courage; don’t they teach omegas at that school or whatever that an alpha needs to ask them, never the other way around? I like that she disregarded that outdated rule.”

                “Eren, I don’t–”

                “But, she didn’t look that happy when I ran into her – what happened between the two of you? Did you reject her? But why – is it because you didn’t really know her? Because we could all hang out some time as friends so you can get to know her personality–”

                “I don’t want to talk about it, Eren! Yes, she asked me out, and yes, I rejected her. I was as nice as I could be about it, but I…’m just not looking for a relationship right now – I have way too much to think about what with school, and now this manager gig. I just don’t have time.” Eren scrutinised Armin’s face for a second before feeling his own drop in sadness – was he holding his friend back from branching out and doing other things? The blonde was willing to give up an undetermined amount of Saturdays (and likely other days as the production got more into it) which he could be using to study or having a social life.

                “Armin, I… You don’t need… I mean… Gah! I don’t know how to phrase it!” He felt frustrated at his own inability to voice his thoughts – was it because he was too selfish to give up his monopoly of his best friend’s time? It was hardly fair to the other.

                “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong.” He hated how easily others could read him sometimes, but for now he was glad that the blonde understood despite his lack of speech facilities. “I only do things that I want to do – if I wanted to do other things, I would, but I _want_ to do this, so get that look off your face.”

                “What look–”

                “The one that says I’m trying to kick your kitten that’s being shielded by a puppy.” Even just the thought invoked by that imagery was enough to cause a slightly horrified look to cross Eren’s face.

                “How could you say that? How could you even think that?” His demands served to adequately diffuse the slight uncomfortableness that had crept into the car, and soon they were both talking and laughing again and the rest of the drive passed in the blink of an eye, and they soon found themselves in front of a familiar room.

                Just as Eren was about to part from his friend, a pale hand shot out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to look curiously back at Armin.

                “I’m not joking, Eren; if anything happens – regardless of _what_ – I want you to call for me.” With that, he allowed his hand to drop, giving one last worried look before walking to one of the offices that was temporarily his, given to him by the blonde director.

                Eren shook his head of Armin’s worries – there was no use thinking about that kind of stuff – before entering the room, a lot more confidently than he had the last time he was here. He immediately located Hanji (not wanting to be subjected to another sneak attack) and saw them animatedly talking with Levi across the room, neither having noticed his presence.

                “Hello, Eren.” He turned his head at the soft greeting, smiling when he saw the stoic Mikasa standing to his side, her grey eyes boring into him as though trying to see how well he was doing by searching his soul, rather than just asking.

                “Ah, hey Mikasa, how’s everything been going?” The two had texted lightly every now and again ever since they met at the coffee shop, but he still wasn’t totally relaxed in her presence – it definitely had a lot to do with her soul-searching, intense gaze.

                “Good; I adopted a cat with my girlfriend and named him Titan. How’s school going?” The casual mention of personal information that not even the media was privy to rendered him speechless, the shock obviously registering on his face as the ravenette raised an eyebrow delicately, if not a little amused.

                “G-girlfriend?!” One or two heads turned at his cry, but were quickly sucked back into whatever conversation they were part of.

                “Yes, her name’s Annie – you’ll actually meet her at some point because she’s a music composer and has already been employed by Erwin to work on this film. Please don’t just go and spout out this information though – as I’m sure you just realised, not even the media knows of my relationship and I would like to keep it that way. It would be a travesty and could easily affect my reputation, especially considering what’s happening to Jean…” Eren let his face furrow in a frown, trying to understand what the female was talking about, but also feeling incredibly privileged at being told this information.

                “I can see by your confusion that I might have lost you; Annie and I are both alphas.” She paused, giving him a meaningful look before it all clicked as to why she was keeping it such a tightly kept secret. He gave a small chuckle.

              “Right; but how did you know I was trustworthy enough? I could turn around and tell the media for a small fortune.”

                “But if you did, then I would just have to kill you and that would make Erwin very unhappy.” He laughed nervously – he knew it was meant to be a joke (right?) but she had delivered the sentence with a completely straight face that he almost started to doubt the level of joking behind the comment. Luckily, he was saved as a hand clapped his back in a friendly manner, almost sending him careening into Mikasa at the force. His glare softened only slightly when he saw Reiner with his trademark ‘nice guy’ smirk.

                “Heya short stuff, how’ve you been?”

              “Hey, Reiner; not much, pretty much just been stuck at school this whole time – I’ll be glad when I finally graduate.” The much taller alpha threw back his head and let out a loud guffaw, completely ignoring his friend who was trying to make him be a little quieter.

                “I completely understand that – I didn’t stay in that hellhole a single second longer than I had to; so what, you coming to work here full time when you finish?” He felt himself shrug, unsure how to respond – he knew that Erwin had mentioned something along that line, but they had never seriously discussed it so he wasn’t sure if the director wanted that.

                “Erwin said that he’d like that, but that he needed to speak with Eren first,” Mikasa volunteered to his relief, the news making his heart soar. If he did a good enough job for this first movie, the chances of getting offered another role would increase dramatically.

                “That’s great news – good for you Eren!” The blonde clapped his hand on the shorter male’s back again in happiness, and Eren cringed, practically feeling as his back caved in at the force.

                “Hey, you big lug! Be more careful with your strength; I can’t have you breaking my adorable cutie’s back!” A brunette whirlwind crashed into their little group, arms winding around Eren’s torso and spinning him, making him feel a little like a ragdoll. It didn’t take a second guess for him to identify the culprit.

                “H-Hanji–”

                “Oi, are you an idiot, shitty glasses; you literally just accused that blonde gorilla–” “Hey!” “– of causing him bodily harm, but I think you’re the biggest culprit right now.” The spinning immediately stopped and Eren felt himself stumble as he was released, a pale hand steadying him at his side, and he felt the shock throughout his being that his saviour and support had come in the form of Levi Ackerman, the man that had slammed his head into a table the last time they met.

                “Aaaww, Levi, are you worried about my baby boy?”

                “Could you please stop calling me embarrassing names–”

                “No, I just don’t want to have to deal with bailing your sorry arse out of jail for manslaughter – imagine what the press would say.” Hanji only cackled maniacally at the reply, and even Mikasa briefly cracked a smile. Eren, however, didn’t find it amusing since he would be the unintended murder victim in that scenario.

                “If Hanji accidentally killed me, then you should let them rot in jail,” he stated seriously after a moment of contemplation. The area was silent for a moment, and he realised as he looked around wide-eyed that he had accidentally said that out loud. After one more nerve-wracking instance, Hanji burst out laughing again, tears gathering in the corner of their eye out of mirth, and Mikasa smiled again – but more openly this time. Everybody was laughing, but Eren felt the most success when he saw Levi shaking his head as though to distance himself from stupid comments, but the brunette noted happily that he was using the curtain of his fringe to shield his brief, tiny smile. It was then that Erwin entered the room, looking utterly confused at the laughter, but feeling pleased to see that they were all getting along with each other – even Levi was making a concentrated effort. With a loud clearing of the throat, he was able to get their attention, and they all began to mill towards their seats.

                Eren was curious about what would happen if he sat next to the surly raven-haired actor again, but he wasn’t even given a chance as he was instantly blocked in on either side by Mikasa and Reiner. Scripts were pulled out as soon as everyone had sat down, and things were finally ready to begin.

                “Okay,” Erwin began. “We’ll continue where we left off last time; I assume you’ve all read your scripts and know the settings? Good. Eren, if you could please begin?” All eyes turned to their own scripts and Eren’s eyes fell to the right point on the page, taking a deep breath before starting to read.

                “I just… I don’t know what to do, Kaily. All I want to do is what everyone else is; to get an equal chance – is that too much to ask?” He felt Mikasa shift slightly before she began reading her part of Kaily, a close friend of his character – Nick.

                “Look, Nick, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to be an omega – you know that betas don’t have to go through any of the things you do. But… know that I’ll always support you, no matter what! If you want to play soccer, than you march down to those damn fields and you face off against the asshole captain and tell him… You tell him that school policy states that every student must be given equal opportunity when trying out for a school team.”

                “Are you sure it says that? I mean, I don’t want to make Tyler angry unnecessarily…” Mikasa hit the table, the shock of it making Eren jump a little – she had already completely immersed herself in her character, and he could literally feel the waves of irritation seeping from her.

                “Unnecessarily? That bastard has been nothing but rude to you – you should make him angry! Make him feel how he’s been making you feel! You _are_ angry, right?” He gave a small, tentative nod in return, not quite sure what level and amount of acting they were meant to be doing right now – he always thought a script reading was just reading the script with the emotions you hoped to portray the character with as an attempt at building your own character. Mikasa looked like she would jump up and perform for the camera any second now. She seemed pleased at his non-verbal communication and nodded, still as her character.

                “Good, because anything else would be pathetic. You keep saying how much you want this, so fight for it – fight for your right, because that’s the only way you’ll be able to get anywhere in this world–”

                “Hey, Nicky, wanna hang out after school today?” Mikasa cast a dirty look at Reiner for his words ( _Not Reiner, Jeff,_ he thought to himself).

                “He’s busy.”

                “Ya sure, ‘cause it looks like he’s got a mouth; he can tell me if he was busy on his own. Don’t need no beta bitch speaking for him.” The animosity between the two over the table, with Eren in the middle, was palpable, and enough for him to sweat slightly, wishing that he was sitting… anywhere that wasn’t here.

                “Look, Jeff, I’ve already made plans with Kaily and Irene today, but maybe another day…?”

                “I don’t know why you still hang out with this loser, Nick; he treats you like you’re going to end up as the next notch on his belt! I refuse to watch you get hurt when I could have done something about it.” Mikasa ( _Kaily!_ ) frowned while Reiner just scoffed in derision.

                “You don’t know nothin’; Nick and I are buddies and buddies hang out. I’ll hold ya to that Nick – next time I ask, I hope ya say yes.” Eren smiled slightly at the sincerity in Reiner’s tone.

                “Sure, I always make time for friends.” According to the script, Jeff leaves at that point, so it’s once more just Nick and Kaily.

                “He’s playing you – I know that you can’t see it because you’re only knew to this whole ‘alpha affection’ thing, but my sister is an omega as well so I’ve grown up watching her fending off loser alphas just like Jeff all the time. As I said before, I will not let you become a notch on his belt.” Eren frowned – it was the second time that phrase was used, but he had no idea what it meant; he’ll have to ask Armin about it later.

                “I won’t – I don’t think of him like that.”

                “But does he think of you like that? Nick, you’re extraordinarily beautiful and any alpha would be lucky to have you, and they all _want_ to have you… If you don’t believe me, just ask Irene after school; she’ll back me up, just you see.” The dialogue ended for the scene, with a few camera shots and other movie jargon that Eren had yet to learn littering the bottom of the scene in the script.

                “That was great you three; any comments or improvements?” When nobody said anything, Erwin continued. “Good, we’ll get started on the next lot of dialogue. Continue taking notes and don’t be afraid to voice any opinions that you’ve developed at a later time.” That was one thing Eren really liked about these sessions and it was the note taking on each other’s characters to see if you could help your fellow actor improve on how they’re voicing and interpreting their characters. His pen flew across the paper as he listened to the dialogue of the next scene, and it seemed like no time had passed before they were on the third scene of the day, of the old members of the soccer team in the locker room.

                “So, tryouts are in a few days – think you already know who’s going to be there?” Eren noted as Hanji began talking in their role of a male high school student (Jamie, if he remembered correctly). Levi scoffed lightly with a smirk, and Eren couldn’t help but marvel at the pseudo smile and how it lit up the actor’s face.

                “They better be good if they want to try out; can you believe that _Nick_ asked if he could try out?” There was a round of laughter from the five actors at the table who were part of the old soccer team ( _Levi, Hanji, Reiner, Bertholt and Marlowe_ , he thought to himself as he tried to remember everybody’s roles).

                “Yeah, I just ran into him and that beta bitch he hangs out with, Kaily or somethin’. She was totally encouragin’ him to come down here and confront you or something like that.” Levi raised a brow incredulously.

                “Really? I already told him that we don’t need some weak omega bringing our team down; why can’t he take that as an answer and be done with it?” Reiner gave a half-hearted shrug while Marlowe and Bertholt started chuckling.

                “Maybe if he was _really_ set on joining the team, we could make him our mascot or something. He’d really… _get up_ team morale and relieve any… stress we might have.” Hearing the usually nervous Bertholt saying something so confidently was unusual, but the other actors seemed to find it funny as they laughed quietly at his sentence.

                “Look, if you want some play-toy, play with him in your own time; I’m completely serious about this team. While, yes, Nick is easy to look at, he has no place being on the team, and that’s the end of that – I refuse to listen to anymore argument or discussion on the matter.” Levi’s tone of finality brought all discussion to an end, and only a few murmured conversations in the scene took place – mostly between Hanji and Levi as they discussed the best way to conduct the tryouts. Eren started to lose focus a little, his own thoughts wondering as he considered the script – it was such a common thing to restrict omegas in everyday life, and he sorely hoped that this script could at least cause some kind of impact in the positive direction; enough to render a change in their society.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Feel free to drop a comment or a kudo, and thanks to everyone who already has ^_^


	10. Chapter 10

                The ticking of the clock sounded loudly through the room, drowned out every now and again by the pen tapping on the edge of the desk. Armin sighed again and leant backwards, blue eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling, the stack of completed paperwork sitting innocently on the desk in front of him. He’d anticipated as much work as he’d been given last time, but apparently there was only so many forms he needed to fill out, and he’d easily breezed through the small stack that Erwin had handed him. However, that meant that the blonde alpha now had nothing to do and had been trying to occupy his time for the last fifteen minutes. He hoped that Eren wouldn’t be too long, but he knew it was a vain hope – they’d really only just begun. He let his head loll backwards, eyes closing with the intention of taking a small nap; next time he would bring his school work.

                He had no idea of how much time had passed – though he didn’t think it could have been that long – when he heard a loud, thundering sound in the hallway.

                “Hmmm?” Standing to his feet, Armin cautiously walked towards the door, but before he could take hold of the handle, the door flung open with a crash, sending him reeling backwards in an attempt to protect himself from an attack. He felt as he was knocked off his feet, landing painfully on the ground.

                “Whoops! Oh my goodness, I’m so, so, so sorry! Are you okay?” One of his ‘attackers’ popped their head into his field of vision, brown hair and big, brown eyes being the first things he saw. The person was immediately yanked out of the way for the second ‘attacker’ to take their place.

                “Sheesh, give him some room why don’t ya, Sash?” Armin lifted an eyebrow incredulously as he noted that the other person was just as close as the first had been. The second person – a male with close cropped hair – gave him a blinding grin and thrust his hand into his face; Armin wasn’t sure if the other was trying to help him up or shake his hand.

                “I’m Connie, and that big galumph over there is Sasha.” Armin hesitantly smiled and accepted the offered hand, feeling as his entire arm was jarred as it was enthusiastically shaken – what was with this company and its staff having such energetic handshakes?

                “Hiya! Sorry about that; this room is usually empty so I didn’t even expect that someone might be in here.” Armin gingerly got to his feet and dusted off the back of his pants.

                “It’s fine; I’m Armin, it’s nice to meet you both. So, are you two actors?” Connie and Sasha looked at each other briefly at his question before bursting out in laughter, startling the teen. Before he could question why they were laughing, Connie clapped a hand on his back with a familiarity that they didn’t have yet.

                “Sorry man, but I just can’t even imagine acting or doing any of that stuff, ya know?”

                “We design costumes,” Sasha supplied with a wide grin, her happiness infectious as she began to babble about the work the two of them did regarding costume designs and alterations. Armin could only smile and nod along, having no idea what any of the technical terms that she was using meant. Connie gave him a sympathetic look before looping an arm around the brunette girl’s shoulder and effectively making her pause in the middle of her sentence.

                “So, are you hungry, Armin? We were thinking about heading out for lunch, you should come with us.” At the mention of food, Sasha’s eyes lit up with excitement, oddly reminding the blonde of a puppy.

                “Uh…” It was either stay here and be bored or leave with the two and start to get to know the other people working in the building. It was really a no-brain decision. “Sure, I was just thinking I was feeling a bit peckish.”

                “Great! We were just coming in here to get our bags, so just give us a sec.” In just a moment the two designers had collected all their belongings and the three headed outside.

                “Where do you want to go? Any ideas, Armin?” He shook his head at Sasha’s question.

                “I don’t actually know Trost very well; I’ve only been here a handful of times, like for school.”

                “Really?” Connie casually slung his arm around Sasha’s shoulder again, leaning on her as they walked and giving him a curious expression.

                “So, what brings you to the Survey Corps? You an actor?”

                “Ah, no; I’m a manager–”

               “WHAT?!” The shriek right in his ear had him cringing, and giving a weak glare at the brown-haired harpy beside him, not failing to notice the apparent admiration on both their faces.

                “You’re a manager? Of an actor? But, you’re like… a kid… right?” The glare became a bit stronger, unintentionally making the two betas cringe away from him slightly.

                “I’ll be 18 soon,” he admitted begrudgingly, though he didn’t classify ‘17’ as a child. “But neither o f you look like you’d be too much older than that.”

                “I’m 30 and Sasha here is 32, so, yeah, 17 seems super young to us,” Connie replied with a small laugh and Armin wouldn’t have been surprised if his jaw hit the ground as he took in the two youthful figures beside him. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around their ages. A slightly awkward silence descended as he forced his feet to move again to follow them, the shock still not having worn away.

                “I… Wow, I don’t think I would have guessed that, but… Anyway, where were we going?” Sasha’s lightly muffled laughter instantly drew his attention, and he saw her trying to stifle any noise by tightly pressing her palm to her mouth. Beside her, Connie seemed to be having a similar problem.

                “What?” At his confused question the two of them burst out laughing, unable to maintain any semblance of composure – Connie literally doubled over in the street due to the force of his mirth. Other pedestrians gave them a wide berth and hesitant looks.

                “Ah, you should have seen your face! Like, oh my god, you had no idea what to say!” Sasha wrapped her arms around one of Armin’s and used him as a crutch, clinging on desperately so she wouldn’t fall over, small tears clinging to the corners of her eyes.

                “Man, you are adorable; does either of us look like we could be in our thirties?” Before a very confused blonde alpha could reply, Connie finally calmed down enough to pipe in.

                “Jeez, we’re sorry – you’re just too easy to trick; I’m 22 and Sasha’s 21 – we haven’t been at the Survey Corps for too long.” Being called easy to trick was a first for Armin, but he found he wasn’t offended by the playful insult as a friendly banter began between the (as he soon found out) childhood friends. They were obviously very comfortable with each other’s presence and Armin was soon relaxing easily and joined in with them.

                It wasn’t until almost an hour later – as the three sat at a nice café close to the headquarters – that work was brought up once more.

                “So what’s it like being a manager?”

                “Ooh, no, who do you represent? What’re they like?” Pale fingers wrapped around the cooling porcelain cup of coffee as the blonde thought about the questions.

                “I haven’t been a manager for long – it’s really just because my friend wants to be an actor and needs someone to help him out. All I’ve done so far is sign some forms that Erwin’s given me – you know, like all that legal stuff. My friend’s name is Eren, and he’s a really great guy – you both would probably get along well with him.” Sasha leaned across the counter, face alight in curiosity.

                “Is he cute? Single? An alpha? Tell us moooore!” Connie grabbed the girl and dragged her back into her seat.

                “Easy there Sasha, don’t be too intense, you’ll scare him away!” _These two are so strange_ , he thought to himself but found that he greatly enjoyed their company.

                “Ah, how to describe Eren… Yes, he’s single and sure, I guess you could call him… cute.” He felt his cheeks heat very slightly – it was weird talking about his best friend in this manner, but his reaction caused the two across from him to squeal in excitement, getting a few nasty looks from other tables.

                “Ooh, look Connie, wittle Armin’s blushing!”

                “I get it; soooo, he’s a _friend_ is he?” The shorter male gave an exaggerated eyebrow wriggle, making the humorously lecherous expression on his face look ridiculous, but it got Sasha laughing anyway. Armin felt his face become deadpan, finding no humour in the joke.

                “Seriously, Connie, he’s like a brother to me, so don’t even suggest something like that – it’s just too weird to think about.” Connie nodded sagely as though he now understood all the secrets of the universe.

                “Right, I get that; it’s like when people originally mistake me and Sasha as a couple. Sorry man, didn’t mean to offend or anything like that.”

                “It’s fine.” With that the topic was dropped, but not before Armin saw a brief look of pain flash through the brown-haired girl’s eyes; it happened so quick, though, that he wasn’t sure if he imagined it or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The air was crisp and clear with the sky having no clouds marring the endless blue. Eren casually stretched his arms up and head still tilted back looking for any imperfections in the solid colour. It was currently lunchtime so they were all given some free time to eat and socialise for a while. He’d rejected a few offers from his fellow actors to eat with them, instead planning to spend the time with Armin, but the blonde had been suspiciously absent from anywhere he searched. He wasn’t worried though, and so he allowed his feet to lead him outside to the private garden out the back of the large building where the staff could go and release the stress of the day by being surrounded by the beauty of nature. It was actually nice having a few moments to himself to just sit and think.

                He figured the reading was going well – they’d gotten through a lot of the front section of the script, though he knew there was still a lot left to go, but he didn’t think he was doing too badly. He’d only been given suggestions a few times about ways to progress his character, though he still didn’t feel comfortable enough to give any suggestions of his own.

A light breeze gently ruffled his hair, and he allowed his eyes to close, head still tilted to the sky as he let his palms fall down beside him to the soft grass.

“It’s so peaceful out here…”

                “Yeah, it’s why I like coming out here so much.” The new voice had Eren almost jumping out of his skin, rolling over on the grass so he could face the intruder. He felt his eyes widen when he saw Levi gingerly dropping to the ground beside him, leaving enough distance between them so that the younger male wouldn’t feel threatened. The raven-haired alpha visibly cringed at the small patch of dirt showing through the grass next to him, but managed to pull his gaze away from it to look at the suspiciously curious boy next to him.

                “You’re doing a surprisingly good job so far.” Eren could only find it in himself to level a glare at the person beside him, still feeling calm despite the backhanded compliment.

                “Hmm…” They sat quietly for another moment, only serving to increase Eren’s curiosity over the other’s presence. He subtly cast his eye around to see if he could spot anyone else – perhaps Hanji or Mikasa who might be forcing him to be here, maybe to ‘make nice’ with him to propagate good working relations or something like that. He didn’t see anyone else.

                “What are you looking for, brat?”

                “B-brat?” _Who does he think he is?!_ “I’m not a brat! You’re… You’re just old!”

                “Ooh?” The narrowing of silvery-blue eyes gave Eren an indication of danger a split second before he found himself up at those same eyes, his back solidly impacting with the ground. A strong, pale hand held his jaw in a tight grip to direct his face so he couldn’t look away from the older actor.

                “Maybe you should be more careful what you call people, they might be…” He leaned down, resting his head beside the younger male’s head, lips almost touching his ear. “ _Touchy_ about it.” A small shiver rolled down Eren’s spine as warm breath ghosted over his skin, wide eyes locked with mesmerising silvery-blue orbs. A strange look of confusion flitted through Levi’s eyes as he gazed down that Eren didn’t know how to decipher, but it was quickly replaced by an expression of cool confidence, and Eren found himself being sucked into the allure. This was the face of the man he had watched for so long on the other side of his screen; who he had admired and aspired to be like. He almost didn’t notice when the raven resituated himself, moving so he was hovering directly over Eren, rather than to the side, the hand that had been gripping his jaw moving gently along his skin until his long fingers curved around the side of his neck, lightly stroking over the scent glands behind his ears.

                Eren heard his own breath hitch, the sound helping to break him from the hypnotic pull radiating from the alpha, blue-green eyes narrowing. With a bit more effort than he would ever admit, Eren drew his arms up and roughly pushed at the broad chest over him, his movement shocking the alpha more than anything else. With the spell broken, Levi quickly rolled off and moved to put a good amount of distance between them, his eyebrows drawing down into a deep frown. Eren coughed to clear his throat, hands pressing against warm cheeks to will the colour away.

                “Um… So… Ah…” He had no idea what to see in this situation, but the weight of the silence was too heavy for him to let it continue. He heard the other actor exhale heavily.

                “I should probably be getting back inside; you might want to head back soon as well.” Levi gracefully rose to his feet and dusted off his pants, sneering at the dirt residue on his hands. Eren frowned as the other male tried to make a hasty exit, and suddenly he felt anger well within him, allowing him to launch to his feet and bound over to Levi, latching onto his arm. To say Levi was surprised would be an understatement, and the shock hadn’t fully wiped from his face as he directed his gaze downwards to the glaring boy.

                “What was that? You just… Why? And then you try to leave immediately without explaining anything.” The force of his glare stunned the alpha for a millisecond before he yanked his arm free.

                “I don’t know,” he ground out, reluctant to admit the fact that he lost control for a minute. He also didn’t want to face the accusing face of his fellow actor, as though he did something wrong. Sure, it had been sudden, but the kid hadn’t been complaining to begin with. “Just hurry back inside.”

                Ignoring any shouts following him, he walked away from Eren and inside the building, leaving the teen standing in the garden. It wasn’t long until he was once more on his own in the Survey Corps garden, but he no longer felt as peaceful as he did just ten minutes ago.

                “That was weird…” With a small shake of his head, he decided he would just try to forget about what just happened – an isolated incident could be taken as an accident. With not much else to do, he decided that he would just start to make his way back inside, though he wasn’t sure how much free time he still had left. After walking around the ground floor for a while, the brunette boy decided that he was now a little lost – he knew he should have entered through the door he left from. Each office looked the same as the last, and he still had yet to pass by the reception when he had a great idea – all he needed to do was to go up. Finding stairs or an elevator was almost just as hard as retracing his steps, but he eventually found a flight of stairs and immediately started to go up.

Despite deciding to forget about it, his mind was still turning over what happened in the garden, wondering what had prompted it. Perhaps it was just an alpha thing – but that didn’t explain anything; did it happen because Levi was sensitive about his age and wanted to mess with him for revenge? His mind was still ticking over possibilities when he realised that he had gone a few flights too far. Eren turned to leave with a small sigh, but stopped when he heard footsteps stopping just on the landing above him, but still in the ‘privacy’ of the stairwell. He would have left immediately, but a familiar voice had him stopping briefly in curiosity.

                “Are you sure they’re on the move?” Erwin’s authoritative voice was slightly hushed, but still conveyed all his dominance as it did with his normal speaking voice.

                “Positive; I was talking to Wilkinson and he said that he definitely overheard one of those damn monsters talking about how they were going to ‘move into new territory’.” He didn’t recognise the second voice, but the topic of conversation was intriguing, so he stayed rooted to the spot – he also wasn’t convinced he would be able to get away silently enough without being caught and if the conversation was as serious as it sounded than he could get in a lot of trouble.

                Erwin sighed deeply. “I didn’t think they would move so quickly; I’d anticipated that we would have at least another three months until they made their next move. How is it that they’ve gotten this far in such a short amount of time?”

                “I don’t know; what I do know is that they’re a common enemy that needs to be destroyed. Listen, Erwin, you know that we need all the manpower we can get – this is war after all. I think you know what I’m getting at with this.” There was a moment of silence, and Eren found himself leaning forward ever so slightly, not wanting to miss a bit – what were they talking about? Who was at war? He didn’t remember reading anything about it in the papers, but maybe Armin would know.

                “Nile…” The warning in the tone caused goosebumps to rise along his skin, the danger dripping from the softly spoken word easily detectable. The other male growled lowly in retaliation, and suddenly Eren felt very unsafe standing so close to a potential confrontation.

                “Listen here, Smith, I don’t give a shit about whatever emotional bullshit you guys are going through, but I can’t stand by and let those monsters do whatever they want while we’re remaining stationary – we don’t even know what they’re doing or what their goal is; how many people will it take for you to take action?” The sound of a hand slamming into the wall echoed dully through the staircase, and the air became thick with alpha pheromones, pushing heavily on the teen actor’s lungs.

                “I told you that I’m trying to distance myself but I agreed that I would still help you out–” “You’re the one they’re fucking after!” “But! I refuse to allow you to bring him into this; this isn’t his life anymore, and he’s doing a damn good job to make something of himself. If I hear that you’ve approached him after I told you not too, I will tear your throat out, are we clear?”

                “You can’t intimidate me, Smith. Listen to reason for a moment! I don’t have the manpower needed, you’re the target and he has incredible clout and loyalty needed to mobilise a freaking army if needed. You both have a responsibility to play your part – the two of you started this, so you need to fucking end it!” Silence reigned for a few moments, and Eren was almost convinced that it was over before Erwin spoke again, his voice sounding just a little softer than it has been.

                “Nile, I promised that I would help you – with this I can right my wrongs. I was the one who started this, not him; he can’t be involved anymore, so just… Please, leave him alone.” The other man scoffed, obviously not nearly as moved by the plea as Eren had been.

                “Ask him; he’ll find out eventually anyway – I find it impossible to believe he’s distanced himself from everything 100%. Nobody can resist the life forever – hadn’t he already returned before after saying he was leaving ‘forever’?”

                “This is completely different and you know it. Of course you know it – you were there after all when–” He was cut off by another low growl.

                “I thought we weren’t talking about the past? This is bullshit, Smith! Get over whatever the problem is; make him get over his problem and just. Order. Him. Look, I have to get to a meeting now, but I’ll phone you later to give you more detailed report of what Wilkinson discovered.” A few more hushed words were exchanged before both men left the stair well, the air clearing rapidly of the smells that had held Eren captive; as soon as it dispersed he collapsed to the step, thoroughly confused by everything that he’d overheard, though none of it made even a lick of sense to him. He stayed on the ground for a bit too long, but he eventually remembered that he needed to return to the reading room.

                The corridor towards the conference room they had been using was empty, so he could only assume that either he was too early or everyone was already in the room – neither scenario seemed too appealing. He was almost to the door when a hand firmly wrapped around his arm and yanked him into an empty office, his back slamming against the wall. For the second time that day he found himself looking into the intimidating blue eyes tinged with silver, though this time they were narrowed in clear annoyance.

                “You need to stop doing that! Like, seriously, it hurts,” Eren complained, and at his words Levi seemed to realise his position and released his painful grip on the shorter boy’s arm.

                “You stink.” The brunette reeled at the blatant insult, and before he was even aware of what was happening, he had raised his hand, the sound of skin on skin registering a few moments after the realisation hit that he had just slapped the clearly annoyed actor. It seemed that Levi was just as surprised, but it wasn’t until he was snarling his anger, once more taking hold of Eren’s shoulder, keeping him pinned to the wall.

                “That was completely unnecessary; I’m just trying to have a damn conversation with you–”

                “Conversation?! Are you kidding? What normal person starts a conversation like this? For one, you’re standing way too close, and you’re also fucking hurting me so let go!” Levi let go again with an irritated groan, moving a few steps so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch the younger male again.

                “Why do you smell like Erwin and Dok?” The question threw him for a minute – he hadn’t realised that he smelled any different to normal, but they do say that you can never smell yourself.

                “I don’t… What? Who’s Dok?”

                “You do; you absolutely reek of conflict and confrontation and I want to know why – did they get angry at you? You wouldn’t smell so strongly if you weren’t exposed for an adequate amount of time. What happened? Are you… okay?” At the last question, his face twisted into a grimace as though he couldn’t believe that he’d just asked that. “Ah, Dok, as in Nile Dok, the Director of Photography.” The name rang a bell as the other man who had been conversing with Erwin earlier, and the recognition must have shown on his face as Levi narrowed his eyes again.

                “What happened?” Should he trust the ravenette to not blab to Erwin that he had been so rude as to eavesdrop on a private conversation?

                “I just heard them arguing – it was in the stairwell so I guess the exposure was more concentrated, or… something like that.” He decided not to disclose anything about the contents he heard – not that it made any sense anyway.

                “Hmph. They didn’t know you were there, right?” _Am I really that easy to read?_ Figuring that there was no point lying or avoiding the question, the teen sheepishly nodded his head. Before he could register what the other male was doing, his wrist was being grabbed and rubbed against the side of a pale neck just under the older actor’s ear right where the scent glands were located. It was a strange sensation; nothing had changed, but the feeling of the foreign scent washing over him was oddly pleasant. Just as suddenly as it began, it had ended with Eren forcefully yanking his hand away and moving across the room.

                “What the hell are you doing,” he hissed, a new blush rising on his cheeks.

                “You were obviously doing something you shouldn’t have, and the way you smelled before would be like a bright beacon to Erwin that you overheard his conversation, and trust me when I say he would be absolutely pissed. At least this way you won’t smell like him anymore.” The act of kindness threw him for a second, and Eren could only stammer out a quick ‘thanks’. It was a surprisingly nice thing for him to do, especially since he didn’t need to. Levi easily brushed off his thanks and subtly directed them out into the hallway, the two parting when Eren decided to quickly duck into the bathroom.

                Levi quietly walked into the conference room and sat down, his mind thinking about all his encounters with Eren over the day. He had no explanation for any of it – the boy was making him act crazy, and there was nothing he hated more than losing control over himself. He had no idea why he’d gone to sit with him outside earlier, especially since he hadn’t been prompted to do it by anyone, and he definitely had no idea why he had lost control so easily. All he knew was that it felt really nice to let his alpha instincts take over for a moment and push the exceptionally pretty boy into the ground – the same stupid instincts that had just reared their ugly head when he walked down the hallway and smelled the boy stinking o f two men he detested more than anyone.

                With a groan, he dropped his head heavily into his hands, trying to come to terms with why he had done the things that he had done, though he still came up blank as to a reason. This was completely unlike him.

                “What’s wrong grumpy pants?” He heard his insane friend plop down unceremoniously next to him and reached a hand out towards to poke his forehead. He easily swatted the hand away, hating how confused his mind was; there was no way he was attracted to Eren, and that was the truth he decided to follow.

                “I think we should go out tonight; it’s been awhile and I just want to relax.”

                “A.k.a. get laid; be a bit more truthful with your words, my friend. But seriously, you want to go out? I’m down for that – we should invite Petra and Isabel and Erwin and–”

                “I don’t care, invite whoever the hell you want, just text me where you want to go later.” His head was still cradled in his hands so he missed the intense look of joy lighting up the bespectacled face – it was very rare that Levi let them choose a venue.

                By now, pretty much everyone had returned, chatting happily. It was at this point that Eren quietly slipped into the room, but the moment he had crossed the threshold the conversations dimmed – people were still talking but it was obvious the lead actor was now the main point of curiosity. He obliviously took a seat and smiled at a horrified Mikasa (but only Levi knew her well enough to know that was what her expression meant). He felt a strange alpha pride to know that everyone was staring because of how much he smelled like Levi, but that pride decreased significantly at the twin glares directed at him from his sister and best friend. Hanji leaned in close, their usual cheery demeanour gone to be replaced by barely concealed rage.

                “What did you do,” they hissed quietly. “You better not have touched that boy, or so help me I will… I will castrate you while you sleep!” Levi rolled his eyes, but didn’t feel in the mood to discuss anything with the brunette – it wasn’t any of their business.

                “I’m not kidding, Levi; that _child_ doesn’t deserve to be played by you – not even you would be that cruel, so just stay away from him.” He didn’t pay them any mind – it wasn’t like he planned to sleep with Eren – he was a beta after all and so deserved more respect than if he had just been some omega slut.

                “Relax, I promise I won’t touch him; I only mildly scented him as a favour. It’s a complicated situation that I’ll tell you about later. In fact, I have a theory about Erwin and Dok.” He whispered the last sentence, only loud enough for Hanji to hear, and as soon as the words were uttered, their eyes widened in surprise before narrowing, the irritation and anger simmering just below the surface of their skin. They would be having quite the conversation later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's it going? Liking the story yes, no? Feel free to kudo or comment, and thanks to everyone who already has ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> How did everyone like? Good, bad, the lord of crapola? All comments are welcome :)  
> And be sure to leave some kudos :)


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